Painful Destruction
by DianneRose2016
Summary: Full summary inside. Ed is captured by the Homunculi after he invades Lab 5. After 22 Days of being held and tortured Ed is finally rescued. But he is far from safe. Roy and his team do everything they can to not only keep Ed safe but to help him finish this once and for all. Parental Roy. RoyXRiza. Hughes doesn't die in my fic. Warnings inside.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: This is going to be my first Fullmetal fanfic. This will be set after episode 22 of the original Fullmetal Alchemist series and not the Brotherhood series. I am going to change everything after that basically including Hughes death. He will be alive in my story. For those of you that have read any of my previous stories within the different categories than you will already know how my writing goes. For those of you who are new, this story will be filled with angst, dark themes, violence, and strong family bonding. Especially between Roy and Ed.**_

 _ **Summary: Instead of the Homunculi turning and leaving Lab 5 when Scar attacked. They grabbed Ed while they had the chance so they could use him to make another one when the time comes. When Hughes and his team arrive at Lab 5 they find a very much alive Al in the flesh and a massive mess of building, red liquid and dead prisoners. With no choice Hughes makes the call to Mustang and the hunt for Ed begins. But when they finally do find him, just how much has been broken inside of Ed? And who will be the one to not only help put him back together, but also help him end this nightmare once and for all. With Scar and the Homunculi still after Ed he is going to need the protection of the military just to see another day.**_

 _ **Story Warnings: Violence, mentions of torture, torture through flashbacks, mentions of rape, sex and swearing.**_

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Chapter 1

Colonel Roy Mustang stood there in his best friend's office staring out the window. It was night time now and when normally the building would be quiet with fellow military personnel either sleeping in their temporary dorms or they were already home tucked into their warm beds. Tonight was completely different though. Tonight marked the twenty-second day where one of their own had been kidnapped. Twenty-two days since their youngest, Edward Elric had been kidnapped by three Homunculi and taken to an unknown location. Twenty-two days since Hughes and a full squad of military soldiers stormed Lab 5 only to discover that Ed was gone and Al was alive once again. Roy could still remember that phone call twenty-two days ago. The one where it shattered his life. Hughes had called in to inform him that Ed was missing and that Al was back in the flesh. Hughes didn't have any answers and they weren't getting any from Al anytime soon as the poor boy was unconscious. Hughes had found Al back in his original body at the age of ten when he had lost it trying to bring back his mother from the dead. He appeared to be fine, aside from the fact that he was naked and underneath the destroyed suit of armor. Lieutenant Ross had been put in charge of tending to Al and guarding him at the hospital just in case. After that phone call Roy didn't even think twice. He gathered his team and they took the next train out to Central and went straight over to Lab 5 to demand some answers.

 _Flashback_

 _Roy stormed through the mass of military personnel that were standing around outside of Lab 5 in the pouring rain. He had his team with him and immediately walked over to Major Armstrong to demand some answers._

" _Major." Roy said with complete authority in his voice. It was clear to everyone he was not in the mood for any of this and he was not going to just take this situation laying down._

" _Colonel Mustang. Lieutenant Colonel Hughes is expecting you. I'll take you to him Sir." Armstrong immediately said._

 _He too had come to like both of the boys and had been protective of them since meeting them. He didn't like that so many dangerous people had been after them, especially Ed for his natural talent. He wanted Ed back safe and sound just as much as everyone else. Armstrong led the group through the laboratory and they all took in the dead chimeras within the one hallway. When they finally arrived at Hughes he was in a room that had security camera screens on the wall. Hughes looked up at the sound of someone approaching and knew it would be Roy. Hughes could tell by the look on his face that he was pissed._

" _Thank-you Sergeant, I can take it from here." Hughes said to the man that was sitting in a chair at the computer._

 _The Sergeant left and Roy went over to Hughes._

" _How long have you known about this place?" Roy demanded._

" _Hey, not that long. You know Ed and Al were coming back to Central to try and find something in the library. The Central Branch got destroyed when Scar was fighting inside of it with someone. Major Armstrong had to report back to Central so he left protection detail in the hands of Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh. Long story short Ed got the documents that he needed from Marcoh. Those documents led him to discovering that the Philosopher's Stone had to be finished by sacrificing a large number of human lives. According to Ross, Ed wanted to give up and stop looking not willing to sacrifice anyone to finish it. Ross convinced him that even finding the truth would be valuable to the world and that he shouldn't give up just because he doesn't like part of the story. Ed agreed and discovered that this lab needed to be looked into. He thought that it would be perfect for someone to make a stone especially with the prison right behind it. Turns out he was right." Hughes started._

" _A large number of condemned souls." Roy stated._

" _Exactly. Ross and Brosh were going to check this place out once they got clearance from Armstrong, but Ed and Al snuck out to look for themselves. My guess, Ed didn't want them to be hurt should something be left here. Shortly after they left Scar attacked the library they were staying in and that was when Ross discovered they had left. She contacted me and we had approval from Fuhrer Bradley to storm in here this morning and he came with us."_

" _Why wasn't I informed? I spoke to you before you stormed in here. You should have told me." Roy said with anger all throughout his voice._

" _I didn't want you to worry. I thought it would be nothing. The last thing you needed was to be caught in the middle of this. I didn't think this would happen. I thought we would find them wandering around an empty lab or with their nose stuck in dusty old books."_

" _You knew Scar was here and you knew he was after Ed. He's been chasing Ed more than any of us. For whatever reason Scar has a strong interest in Ed over all of the others he should be chasing for what happened to his people. I should have been informed the second you had confirmation that he was within Central. Ed and Al should have had someone guarding them at all times, in the room with them." Roy turned to look at Armstrong as he continued to speak. "Major, you were in charge of the Elric's security detail. Why did they not have constant coverage knowing that Scar was in Central?"_

" _I'm sorry Sir. I should have placed someone within their room. I thought Ross and Brosh would be enough as we didn't have confirmation that Scar was even still alive or in Central. I should have stayed with them after reporting to Headquarters. I'm sorry Sir. I take full responsibility for the security lapse." Armstrong said knowing that he should have done a great number of things differently._

" _Look, I should have called you Roy and I'm sorry I didn't. No one knew what we'd find here, or that we would ever find this. The security cameras were still working and we got it all on tape. There's no sound, but we can follow Ed's movements." Hughes said as he sat down and started to bring up what he needed on the screen._

" _What about Al? How is he?" Roy asked._

" _Ross is with him and under orders not to leave his side no matter what. I found him back in his body. He was naked and underneath the suit of armor that was destroyed. He wasn't conscious though and he hasn't woken up yet. Ross will call right away when he is awake. The doctors did assure Ross that Al was just exhausted and dehydrated. He was set to make a full recovery once he got some rest. So wherever he was, he wasn't hurt at all."_

" _A small miracle." Hawkeye said as she stood next to Roy. She knew how much this was affecting him and she wanted to continue to be his silent support system._

" _Hopefully he will be awake and we can ask him some questions. For now we have this to go off of. So here you can see them sneaking onto the grounds and only Ed went in through an air vent. Al was forced to stay outside. Ed can be reckless and not think twice about his safety, but I honestly think he didn't expect to find anyone inside otherwise he wouldn't have gone in alone or left Al on his own."_

" _He wouldn't put his brother at risk." Roy easily agreed, because if there was one thing he knew about Ed it was that he would die to keep his brother safe and alive._

" _From there we can follow Ed as he makes his way through hallways. He lands on a bunch of traps and almost gets rolled over before he changes the hallway to make it safe. He ends up in a room where he gets into a fight." Hughes said as he pointed to the right monitor and they all watched as Ed fought an empty souled suit of armor._

 _They could see he was getting tired and he was wounded by the blade. When they thought it was over they only discovered that there was a second soul within the suit and they were forced to watch Ed fight for his life once again._

" _I've never seen how good he can fight." Havoc said as he watched._

" _He had a good teacher." Hughes said._

 _They watched as Ed destroyed the suit with his alchemy and Hawkeye noticed it before the others._

" _Wait, how did he do that?" Hawkeye asked._

" _He stopped on the second step, destroy. To change something you need to destroy it first before transforming it to something new. Ed did what Scar is doing, stopping at the second stage, destruction. It was smart for him to do. He's losing too much blood he wouldn't have been able to stay awake for much longer." Roy explained._

" _And somehow he managed to do just that. They talk for a while and then Ed grabs the head and goes off down a hallway where he unfortunately crosses the Chimeras and has to fight once again. They get called back by their Master, wait for it, Shou Tucker, who turned himself into a Chimera."_

" _What? Fuery asked shocked._

" _Ya that's going to need a conversation whenever we find him. But from there Tucker leads Ed into this room." Hughes said and they all could see the room with the large containers of red liquid and the transmutation circle on the floor. They watched as Tucker talked to Ed and then Ed eventually went and placed a circle on the ceiling and then changing the one on the floor to a hexagon._

" _A hexagon transmutation circle has never been done before. It would be a lot of power and require someone very powerful to be able to control it." Armstrong said._

" _The kid is a prodigy." Havoc said._

" _That liquid, it's incomplete Philosopher's Stone. Based on how powerful one small stone is, all of that would be enough to destroy half this world. Not to mention Tucker leads Ed up to the room above to see even more of it. What Ed doesn't see are the prisoners that are kept behind the walls. Prisoners that_ _Brigadier General Basque Grand ordered to be moved there." Hughes said._

" _He's dead." Roy automatically said._

" _And that would be one of the many questions that we have unanswered. Because we all know he is dead and buried missing his brain. From here we can piece together what happened even without the words. Ed is about to do the transmutation when the ceiling gives and the prisoners fall, stopping Ed. Then three new players come out dragging Al with them." Hughes said as he brought it all up. "Ed gets mad and goes to attack this one guy, but something goes wrong with his automail as his arm stops working. Said guy then goes to town on Ed. From here we can then assume the conversation goes somewhere along the lines of, finish the stone or your brother dies. The women goes over and removed Ed's helmet and uses her very long nail and places it against his blood seal. Ed then goes to finish the transmutation with the prisoners in the middle, but last second he can't do it."_

" _He's not a killer. It's different to kill in self-defence or for his brother to keep him safe. This would be mass murder so he could restore his brother's body. He wouldn't be able to live with himself, even if that means Al's death." Roy said feeling sorry for Ed, because he knew the inner turmoil that he would have felt in that situation. Having to choose between is brother's life and those of prisoners._

" _His heart is too pure. It would have destroyed them both if he did." Armstrong added._

" _But then how did Al get his body back?" Havoc asked._

" _That would be an Alchemist question. Watch what happens." Hughes answered._

 _They watched as an explosion happened causing the ceiling to fall and for one of the canisters to break open. They could see that it was Scar that had made the explosion, but they had no idea if he was doing it to help the Elric's or if he was doing it for his own motives. From there they saw that the incomplete Philosopher's Stone landed on Ed covering him with it's power. They watched in horror as his body started to glow with power and give off electric sparks and strong wind._

" _What's happening to him?" Hawkeye asked._

" _His body is absorbing the power of the stone. His chemical makeup would have been rapidly changing giving him unbelievable power. He's not in control though, it's taken over his body and mind." Roy answered with concern in his voice for what that type of power could do to Ed._

" _Power like that could make him a God if his body absorbed enough of it." Armstrong added._

" _That power is how Al got his body back. I don't know how the kid did it, because he didn't move from this spot, but one second Al is a suit of armor the next he's a kid and Ed stops glowing and passes out. The three unknowns then grab Ed and leave. We can track them down the hallway until they reach the last camera outside. After that we have nothing." Hughes added._

" _Ed has only one purpose, one constant thought in his mind and that is returning Al's body. Even in that state his body could have just reacted to his most desired thought and brought Al back. We need to search a five mile area. Ed's automail makes him twice as heavy they wouldn't have been able to carry that much dead weight for long." Roy said._

" _I've already got three squads out searching the area and another set looking for any type of security cameras that we could use. It's a mess in here, we have missing prisoners and dead ones on our hands. Not to mention trying to figure out how this place was still operational after it was supposed to be shut down. We also have a dozen or more chimeras that are perfect for a lack of a better word. And we can add in a missing Tucker. The Fuhrer is pissed and has ordered all military personnel out looking for any clues to Ed. It's bad enough when a State Alchemist is kidnapped, but when said Alchemist is only fifteen you have a code red. The Fuhrer had ordered this case be the only case that anyone works." Hughes said._

" _It's not just his age that's the issue. When this breaks and eventually it will, all people will hear is that the Alchemist of the People has been kidnapped. It's going to cause panic and riots if people feel that the military isn't doing enough." Roy added._

" _Excuse me Colonel." A female voice said._

 _They all turned to see a younger officer standing there. "Lieutenant Ross has just called to inform you that the boy is awake."_

" _Thank-you Sergeant." Roy said dismissively before turning his attention back to his team. "Hughes and I will go and speak with Al. The rest of you start looking for clues as to who was keeping this place operational. That person might lead us to whoever these other three are."_

 _His team simply gave a nod and Hughes and Roy headed out of the lab and outside so they could get to the hospital. The clock was ticking and they all knew that Ed wouldn't be able to hold on forever. The car ride to the hospital was done in complete silence, a tense silence. Hughes knew that Roy was furious with him for not contacting him sooner. Given the current situation, Hughes couldn't blame him. He was furious with himself for not letting Roy know the second Scar had made an appearance here. Or right when he knew that Ed and Al could have been in trouble. Hughes had seen how close Roy had become to Ed. He never showed it, but Hughes could see how much he cared for Ed when he found out that Ed was hurt or in danger. All thoughts of his own career and dream were thrown out the window when those boys got in trouble or were in danger. Hughes had seen Roy keeping every one of the letters that Ed had sent over the years to keep him updated on what they had discovered._

 _Roy cared about them, Ed especially. Hughes knew though that Roy had never admitted to himself just how much Ed had gotten under his skin. Just how much he cared about the boy and Hughes was worried that this would push Roy passed his limit. Roy was his best friend, he didn't want to see him throwing everything away that he had worked hard for, but at the same time, if he was at least it would be for a good reason. Hughes cared about those boys just as much as Roy and he wanted them to be safe and okay. He wanted them to fulfill their dreams and be happy. He could see that there was a lot of stress and pressure on Ed's shoulders. He was the big brother. He was the prodigy and he would be the one to make all of this possible. It was a lot to put onto a child, even a fifteen year old one._

 _When they finally arrived at the hospital they immediately went to Al's room. Ross was standing on the outside on guard just in case._

" _Report." Roy demanded._

" _Colonel Sir, I have not been in the room yet. The doctor informed me that Al was awake and was in good spirits, but very confused. I thought it would be best to wait for you to handle the situation as I did not want to release any questionable information."_

 _Roy didn't say anything as he opened the door and went in with Hughes behind him. Hughes closed the door because he didn't want anyone else listening that may have walked by. They both saw Al sitting up in the bed with the covers over him. He looked good except for the obvious tired eyes. What they weren't prepared for was the confused look in his eyes._

" _Hey Al. How are you feeling?" Hughes asked with a warm smile as he went and sat down in one of the hospital chairs next to the bed._

" _Fine Sir. Um… who are you?" Al asked with a shy voice._

" _You don't remember us Al?" Hughes asked, but he had a feeling based on the confusion in his eyes when they first walked in._

" _No Sir. Where's my brother?"_

" _Al, do you know where you are?" Roy asked gently. He wanted answers, but he knew Al wouldn't be able to give them. For some reason he didn't have any memory of the past four years. Roy figured it had something to do with his body still being ten years old. It would only make sense that his memories would mimic his age._

" _The hospital." Al answered._

" _Do you know why?" Hughes asked._

 _They could both see that Al didn't want to say and they had their answer with just that. He thought it was because of the human transmutation that they had tried to do._

" _Where's my brother?" Al asked again, but with worry in his voice._

" _Al, you're in Central City. And we are still looking for your brother." Roy answered._

" _Central? But how did I get here? And what do you mean you're still looking for him? He was with me back at the house." Al said now more confused than ever._

" _Al what I'm about to tell you may sound crazy and will be confusing, but it's the truth." Hughes started._

" _Ok." Al said slightly unsure._

 _Hughes grabbed a newspaper that was left on the beside table and placed it down in Al's lap._

" _Do you see the date?" Hughes asked._

 _Al looked down and saw what the date was and his eyes instantly went large. He looked up at both men with confusion all throughout his features._

" _Four years? But how is that possible? What happened? Where's brother?"_

" _After you and your brother tried to bring your mom back somethings happened. Your brother lost his left leg and you lost your body. In order to bind your soul, your brother lost his right arm. For the past four years you both have been traveling the world looking for a way to get your body back. Yesterday your brother finally did it. He got you back to normal. But someone has taken your brother and now we are looking for him. We were hoping you might have an idea, but you clearly have lost the past four years." Hughes answered._

" _You're serious?" Al said after a moment of looking at both Hughes and Roy's faces._

" _We are Al. I know this is a lot to take in for you. But it is the truth." Roy said._

" _But then my brother is missing. I have to help find him."_

" _The best thing you can do is stay here and rest. He wouldn't want you getting sick or hurt. Not after everything that has happened. Your brother is a State Alchemist and has the whole military out there looking for him. We'll find him." Hughes reassured._

" _But if he found a way to bring me back, how do you know he isn't gone too? Lost to equivalent exchange." Al said with fear._

" _We have him on a security tape being taken after you were returned to your body. We know he's alive and we have images of the people who took him. We will find him. Maes is right Al. You just rest and we will find your brother. I'm going to have Lieutenant Ross stationed outside your door just as a precaution." Roy said._

" _We need to get going, but you just rest for now. We'll keep you updated on what we find." Hughes said as he stood up._

" _Please find him. He's all I have." Al said sadly._

" _We will." Roy promised. He knew no matter what that Ed would fight until the very end to survive long enough to get back to his brother. Based on the video feed, Ed would have no idea that Al was even back alive. He wasn't about to leave him brother._

 _They both headed out to see Ross waiting anxiously to know if they had any leads. She hadn't known Ed for long, but he had already gotten under her skin with his determination and sheer drive to help his brother. Once the door was closed Hughes spoke._

" _Well that was no help. He has no memories of the past four years."_

" _Oh that poor boy. He must be so confused and scared right now." Ross said sadly._

" _Stay with him until we know he's safe." Roy ordered._

" _Yes Sir." Ross easily agreed._

" _Maybe hangout in there with him. He's probably got a lot of questions right now." Hughes suggested._

" _Of course. I'll keep him safe." Ross promised._

 _Roy didn't say anything else, he just turned and left. They weren't going to get any work done from the hospital and each second was another second that Ed was getting further and further away from them._

 _End of Flashback_

Hawkeye and Hughes stood outside of his office looking in on Roy who was just staring out the window. They had both been worried about him during the last three weeks. He had barely slept and barely eaten anything. He would spends days and nights searching the streets to find Ed. They had all given up on finding a lead and had opted to search every possible location that Ed could have been taken to. The problem was, it was a large order. Roy had been irritable and had been pushing himself just to try and find anything that might lead them to Ed's location or one of the three people who had taken him. Only to come back with nothing. After a week of Ed missing the Fuhrer had no choice, but to declare that Ed was most likely dead and they had other cases that needed their immediate attention. Roy had refused to leave Central to go back East though and Hawkeye and Hughes both knew it would cost him in the end, but Roy was refusing to leave. He and his team had stayed back to help Hughes with the investigation and the Fuhrer was allowing it for now, but soon that would turn into a serious problem when he ordered them back to their command post. The clock was ticking down for them and for Ed.

"I've never seen him like this." Hawkeye said sadly with worry in her voice.

"Ya not even after that war. He was a wreck in a completely different way then. But this is different. I wonder if he's realised it yet."

"Realised what?"

"That he's a father."

"You think?" Hawkeye asked slightly shocked.

"You don't? Only a father would go this far, would risk everything he's ever worked for just for his kid. He didn't mean for it to happen, but it's happened. He'll burn the whole city to the ground if he thought it would help. He's a father and Ed is going to need him to get through to the other side on this."

"You really think he's still alive?" Hawkeye asked softly.

"I have to. I have to." Hughes said back just as softly and Hawkeye could hear the hurt in his voice.

"How's Al?"

Al had been staying with Hughes ever since he was allowed to leave the hospital two days later. He had refused to leave Central without his brother. They had called Winry to inform her of the situation and she had come down with her grandmother Pinako to be with Al and wait for when Ed would be found. The Rockbells were staying in a nearby motel while Al had stayed with Hughes for the added protection. They didn't think he was in danger anymore, but they weren't taking any chances.

"He's worried. He doesn't sleep too well either. He just wants to find Ed and he's feeling guilty that he doesn't remember anything from that night. Gracia is trying to get Al involved during the day and trying to keep his spirits up, but he's not an idiot either. He knows Ed's time is running out."

"We need something soon, because I don't know how much longer either of them can last or if we lose Ed." Hawkeye said with worry for Roy.

Their conversation was cut short when Havoc and the others were running down the hallway towards them. Both Hughes and Hawkeye foolishly allowed themselves to get their hopes up that they finally had a lead.

"We found him." Armstrong said once they were close enough.

Hughes and Hawkeye ran into the office and Roy turned around at the sudden sound of the door opening. He saw the others had all gathered around the door and Armstrong came in and handed him the piece of paper as he spoke.

"We found camera picked this up less than an hour ago. We went back on the footage and saw them bring Edward into the building and he hasn't left. I pulled the schematics, there's only one way in and out."

"Everyone gear up we're leaving in fifteen minutes. We don't know who these people are so be prepared." Roy said with determination in his voice.

After twenty-two days they were finally on the right track to finding Ed and hopefully they would have him back with them safe and on the road to recovery within the hour. The others didn't need to be told twice as they left to get ready to leave. Roy grabbed his gloves and made his way out to gather more men. They didn't know what they were going to walk in on and Roy was not going to take that chance with Ed's life. He had been waiting for this for three weeks and he was not about to screw this up now. This maybe their only chance at getting Ed back from these people and Roy was not going to fail.

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When they pulled up to the abandoned warehouse they all got out of their trucks and made their way slowly inside. Armstrong went first followed by Roy. They didn't know what to expect, but they weren't going to take any chances. They had thirty soldiers with them all with the order to find Edward before anything else. He was their objective. The main area was empty so they all split up to search the rest. Roy, Hughes and Hawkeye went together off to the right. They got ten feet down the hallway when they heard fighting behind them, followed by growling. They knew that there would be someone here guarding the building and it only just confirmed that. The three of them took off running down the hallway searching every room so they could find Ed and find him fast. There was no telling what could be happening behind them or what could be lying behind the closed doors. After ten doors they finally opened one that contained exactly who they were looking for, but that didn't prepare them at all for what they saw. The walls were all surrounded in transmutation circles that Roy recognized at making it so that someone couldn't use their alchemy. There were no windows within the room and the room was freezing cold. There in the middle of the room was Ed. He had a chain around his neck that was attached to the floor, keeping him in that position. His automail arm and leg were missing. He was on his right side curled up, naked and covered in blood, bruises, burns and cuts. They all ran over to him and Hawkeye had her body facing the door just in case. Roy removed his jacket and placed it over Ed to cover him.

As Roy covered Ed he noticed the blood between Ed's thighs. He looked at Hughes and he too had seen it. They then took notice that there was dried semen on his body as well.

"Son of a bitch." Hughes said with pure rage in his voice.

"What?" Hawkeye asked as she turned to face them as Roy covered Ed up.

"He's been raped." Roy said through clenched teeth as he took the rest of Ed's appearance in.

"Bastards." Hawkeye said with pain all throughout her voice. She knew she needed to be strong and to do her job, but it was hard when she saw the state that Ed was in. He was only a fifteen year old boy.

Roy took in the endless number of bruises and cuts on Ed's body. His left eye was swollen shut and his right eye was almost just as bad. His left arm was covered in second degree burns from his fingers all the way to his shoulder. He still had cuts that were bleeding within the arm and they looked infected. Ed's body was shivering and they could feel the heat radiating off from him. He was sick from the infections and possibly the room itself being so cold. They could see that he had lost weight and for someone his size he couldn't really afford to lose much. They could see that he had five broken ribs easily. He also had whip marks all over his back that they were sure would scar. On top of all of that he was covered in blood, dirt and semen in spots. Even his hair had red in it and was all matted. From the sound of his breathing Ed was barely hanging on. Hughes checked his pulse to find it fast and unsteady.

"We need to get him out of here. He's fading." Hughes said as Roy started working on getting the chain off. The problem was he couldn't use his alchemy within the room.

"Hawkeye, shoot." Roy said as he pulled the chain as tight as he could to give her the best opening.

Hawkeye turned around and carefully took aim and fired, hitting the chain and successfully snapping it. Hughes helped Roy remove the chain around Ed's neck and they could see bruising and cuts from Ed fighting against it. Now that Ed was free Roy gently and carefully picked him up being shocked at just how light he was. Hughes made sure Roy's jacket was wrapped around him for protection against the weather, but also to keep his naked body covered. Roy took a moment to make sure he had a good enough grip on Ed as it was a little awkward with him missing and arm and leg. He didn't want to hurt Ed by mistake from grabbing him in the wrong place. He knew from research when he first met Ed that automail ports could be painful if touched in the wrong spot and with his limbs not attached those nerves were exposed and could be painful if anything touched them.

Once Roy was confident that he wouldn't cause any further pain to Ed they made their way out of the room and back down the hallway. Hawkeye was in front with Hughes behind Roy just in case they came across trouble. The closer to the main room they got the louder the fight got. They knew that Ed was the priority, but they also didn't want to leave their men only to be killed. When they arrived to the main area they saw that their men were fighting off chimera's and one of the men that were in the lab that had attached Ed. Roy say that Armstrong was busy fighting him so Roy yelled loud enough for everyone to hear as they continued to run for the door.

"Armstrong! Abort! Abort!"

Armstrong took a second to see that Roy had Ed before going back to the fight at hand while everyone else finished their fight and started to get out of there. The three of them headed outside and straight for the truck. Hawkeye got into the driver's seat while Roy and Hughes got into the covered back. They were joined by the rest of Team Mustang and once Roy made sure all of his immediate men were with them he spoke.

"Go and don't stop."

Hawkeye didn't need to be told twice. She took off as fast as the truck could take and headed for the hospital.

"How is he?" Havoc asked as he tried to get a look at Ed.

"It's bad." Was all Roy had said as he looked down at Ed in his arms.

He couldn't see a single spot on him that wasn't bruised or hurt. He had clearly been tortured and beaten for the past three weeks while they had been searching for him. Hawkeye hit a bump and they all jostled around. The movement caused Ed to let out a scream as he slowly opened his right eye, as his left was swollen shut. The first thing Roy saw within Ed's eye was complete and utter terror. It was something he never thought he would ever see in Ed and Roy found it breaking his heart. Ed was one of the bravest men he had ever known and he was only fifteen. That look should never be on Ed's face.

"It's okay Ed. You're safe now. It's okay." Roy said gently as he held Ed closer to himself to try and help warm him up.

"Col...Colonel?" Ed's voice was hoarse and very weak. It sounded like even talking was painful to him.

"That's right Ed. Maes is here too. We're on the way to the hospital."

Ed's breaths were coming in a weeze right now and it was clear he was in an extreme amount of pain and struggling to just breathe.

"H...hu...hurts." Ed said weakly as he fought to keep his eye open.

"I know. Just hang on for a little while longer and the doctor can give you something for the pain. Just hang on Ed. Al is waiting for you remember. You can't give up. He's depending on you."

"Al…"

"That's right Ed. He's okay. He's been really worried about you. You can't leave him now. He stills needs you."

Roy could see the tears building in Ed's eye as he closed it to try and get his emotions under control. Even after everything that had happened to him he was still trying to be strong. Roy just wanted to shake him and tell him that it was okay to be hurt and scared. That it was okay for him to just be a kid and let the adults handle things from here. Roy didn't get the chance though because Hawkeye stopped and they all proceeded to get out. Roy picked up Ed once again, but the movement caused Ed to let out a moan. Hughes and Roy could see that Ed was biting his lip to keep from screaming out again.

"It's okay, we're at the hospital. I just need to get you out of here and onto a bed. I'm going to try and move as best as I can without jostling you too much." Roy said as he made his way out of the back of the truck.

Ed did his best to try and not make a sound. He knew that any sound would be perceived as a weakness and he wasn't about to come across to everyone any weaker than he already appeared. It was bad enough he was being carried like a child into the hospital by his boss because he only had two limbs. He wasn't going to embarrass himself even more. Once inside Roy placed Ed down on a stretcher as a doctor and nurses surrounded it talking about injuries and potential injuries as they pushed Ed down the hallway and into a treatment room. Roy was right behind him, but was stopped by a nurse.

"I'm sorry Sir, but you can't go in. We need to work on him and to do that we need to concentrate. You and your men can wait over there in the waiting room. When we know something you will be informed." And with that the nurse turned around and closed the door behind her.

Roy let out an annoyed sigh before he turned and headed over to the waiting room with the rest of his men. Hughes went to call home to inform his wife about finding Ed and that he would have Ross come by to escort Al here. From there all they could now do was wait once more until someone came out to tell them about Ed.

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It was five hours before a doctor finally came over to the group. They all stood up once the doctor came over to them.

"I'm Dr. Lin. I've been told that Colonel Roy Mustang is the man I need to speak with."

"That's me. How is my man?"

"If you would come with me, then we can discuss his condition." Dr. Lin said and even though Roy would have normally demanded that he tell them all. He could tell that Dr. Lin was not about to budge on this topic. Roy just gave a nod and followed the doctor to an empty room so they could speak.

"It's my understanding that Edward doesn't have any family." Dr. Lin started.

"That's correct. As his Commanding Officer his medical power of attorney falls to me. What is his condition?"

"He's serious injured. Starting from the top; he has a three inch skull fracture that will make him tire easily, get dizzy spells, have some trouble concentrating, he could have some memory loss, the bruising around his eyes and nose will be darker because of it and some days he will just feel rundown. On those days it's best for him to rest as much as possible and to take it easy. It will take roughly two months before his skull is fully healed. He can be out on missions should he feel well enough to, but it is vital he does not get hit in the head.

His left eye is swollen shut due to trauma, his nose was broken and had to be set, he also has a fractured left cheekbone. His throat is bruised and his vocal cords are as well due to some type of chain around his neck. He struggled hard enough to bruise his vocal cords. They will heal with time, until then his voice will be hoarse and it can be painful for him to talk for a couple of weeks until the bruising heals. He has pneumonia and bruising on his chest that is similar to someone being given CPR. Based on the bruising and water in his lungs that turned into pneumonia it's safe to assume that he was repeatedly drowned and resuscitated as a means of torture.

His left arm is covered in second degree burns. He also had several cuts that were infected and required stitches. He has ninety stitches in his arm for various cuts. His arm has been wrapped completely and needs to remain that way for three weeks until the stitches can come out and the burns have healed more. Twice a day a cream needs to be applied to his whole arm and hand and then rewrapped. He also needs to be careful when showering to not get the stitches wet.

He has six broken ribs that I have wrapped, but unfortunately only time will heal those. His body is covered in bruising and cuts. His back had thirty whip lashes and a few of them got infected along with several other cuts on his body due to the old blood and dirt. They have all been cleaned and he is on a highly strong anti-biotic to help fight the infection off and for his pneumonia. He is also dehydrated and malnourished from no food for the past three weeks. He needs to slowly start eating again and in small meals to help his stomach adjust back. After a week he should be back to normal.

We found a chemical in his blood work. It's a bio-engineered drug that works for his genetic makeup. From what we can tell the drug was used on him for roughly twenty days now. The drug would make it so that his body wouldn't allow him to pass out from the pain. It also would have intensified the pain. If that wasn't enough the drugs that makeup the enhanced drug are also addictive when given on a constant basis. Edwards body is already showing signs of withdrawals. He will be fairly sick for the next week before his body has the chance to burn off the drugs.

His automail was not removed properly, but rather ripped out. Most people believe that automail is just metal and not apart of the person wearing it. When in truth automail is an extension of that person. It is very much an arm or a leg and the body reacts to it as its own. It can take years of physical therapy for a person to be able to use their automail limb properly. I've never seen someone this young with any least of all two. When the limbs were ripped out it would have been very painful. It would have felt as if someone was ripping one of your arms or legs right off. The nerves were still exposed and left irritated from it. We have wrapped both of his ports to keep from any dirt or from accidental contact with anything. We do have mechanics that can build him new limbs, but most prefer to use their own mechanic for the job. I would give it five days or so before any new automail is attached to allow his nerves the break. Automail takes a toll on a person's body and Edward's body could use the break from it. He's awfully young to have two automail limbs. They would be heavy and put stress on his heart and breathing. With the current state of his body he needs the rest from them and the extra weight.

Finally, there were signs of sexual assault. We ran a rape exam and he was brutally raped multiple times a day for the past three weeks. There were no diseases in his blood, but he will be very sore for a week from it. He will also need some form of counselling to be able to mentally and emotionally recover from it. There was also bruising on the inside of his mouth from being forced to perform rough oral sex. We took all DNA samples and photos of all of his injuries for your case files. That is all of his injuries, do you have any questions or concerns?"

Roy stood there for a moment just trying to take it all in. Edward had been seriously injured on so many levels Roy didn't even know what questions to ask right now. He understood now why the doctor had him come over to speak alone. Roy already knew about the rape and he wasn't about to tell anyone about it. Hughes and Hawkeye already knew, but Roy was confident that they wouldn't be telling anyone about it. What happened to Edward was up to him to tell and only whom and when he was ready.

"When can he leave? I know he'll be anxious for that."

"I need to keep him for at least two weeks. I want to make sure that the drugs are out of his system and that his infection is healing. The nurses have tried their best to get him cleaned up, but he still has areas of blood and dirt on him. His hair is also still dirty. When he is awake and feeling up to it he can take a bath to get cleaned up. If he is unable to do it himself then a nurse can help him. We do have swimming trunks that he can wear if that would make him feel more comfortable. We do find though with sexual assault victims, especially young males, that even the thought of a stranger around them and touching them in anyway is too much for them to handle. He will have problems mentally with what has happened to him.

He will most likely experience PTSD where he could have flashbacks randomly, anxiety about large crowds or being outside. Depending on where he was kept he could have a fear of the dark and trouble sleeping. He could feel guilty about the situation and feel that what happened was his fault, that he deserved what happened because of something he did in the past. Some children regress within their growth, meaning social interactions or if the child is smart any quirks they may have had when they were younger could come back. He could feel like the trauma he has endured is happening all over again. He could smell the room or feel the hands even though he's not there anymore. Low self-esteem is common among males as well as a difficult time trusting people, especially adults. He could also avoid what happened and claim that he is fine and try to pretend events never happened. And of course he will be depressed and could have feelings or urges to hurt himself or to die. All of these symptoms needs to be dealt with early on so he doesn't end up taking his life or turning to drugs or alcohol to numb the pain. I wouldn't recommend that he lives alone even when he can leave in two weeks. It wouldn't be healthy for him."

"No he won't be and he will have someone around him at all times to make sure he is okay and taking it easy. He has a lot of people who care about him that make our own family. The military has some of the best psychiatrists and Ed will be seeing them before he even leaves the hospital. All of this information is confidential of course." Roy didn't want anyone trying to use this against Ed later on.

"Completely. Only a court order would be able to release the information and only to another doctor." Dr. Lin confirmed.

"Can we see him?"

"A few at a time can and someone can stay with him at night. I think it would be for the best if he wasn't alone for a little while until he has a better handle on what happened to him and his body is more healed. He's in a private room with it's own bathroom. Room 418 and I can have a cot placed in it for whoever is staying with him."

"That would be appreciated thank-you. I'm grateful for everything you've done for him."

"I wish there was more we could do. We were able to give him a low dosage of morphine until the other drug is more out of his system. When he does wake up don't be surprised if he seems a little out of it. It's from the morphine and the fever."

"Thank-you Dr. Lin."

"I'll be checking in on Edward until the end of my shift and then Dr. Xan will be taking my place. If you need anything hit the nurse call button and one will be right away. Edward has his own nurse assigned to just him due to his condition and age."

"I appreciate it. I will be giving the others a more vague report on Edward's injuries and keeping the sexual assault out of it. I would appreciate it if you did the same when asked about his condition."

"Of course. If that is all I need to check in on some of my other patients."

"Of course. Thank-you."

Roy and the doctor headed out of the office and Roy made his way back into the waiting room to see that everyone was anxiously waiting for news on Ed. Roy held his hands up to stop anyone from asking any questions before he could speak.

"He is going to make a full recovery. In time he'll be fine. For now he is injured mostly with bruising, cuts and some broken ribs. He had an infection in some of the cuts on his arm and pneumonia from the cold room he was kept in. He has a skull fracture as well , but with time he'll be fine. He just needs rest right now and time for his body to heal."

"So the Chief isn't too injured then." Havoc said.

"The doctor did say that his automail ports could use a five day break. The nerves in his arm and leg are irritated from the way his limbs were forcefully removed instead of being properly disconnected. He also said that his body was showing signs of distress from the added weight." Roy said to Winry.

"Ya I noticed that when he was by last time. It's why I changed the metal so it was eighty percent lighter, but as a result it made it easier to break. I've been doing research though on a new metal combination of magnesium and some other metals. I've been working on it since arriving here. I had a feeling he would need some new ones. I really wish his opponents would stop going after his automail. It really is a cheap shot. But I've found a way to make his automail thirty percent lighter so instead of them weighing fifty pounds they would weigh thirty-five roughly and they would be as strong as his original steel ones. They also won't rust from water or snap in the cold." Winry explained.

"It's also been four years since his ports were changed. We also should redo them and make sure they are the proper size now that he has grown from the age of eleven. Doing it in the hospital will be easier as they can give him some pain medication this time. Last time he didn't have any." Pinako said.

"He got automail attached to him completely without pain medication?" Hawkeye asked sadly as she couldn't even imagine how painful that must have been.

"He did. He said his pain was nothing compared to Al's. He got them attached and a week later he was doing physical therapy and leaving a year later. He pushed himself hard to get in top shape again." Winry said sadly.

"What's important is that he will make a full recovery and that he is safe now." Hughes said with a warm smile to Al and Winry.

"But who took him and why?" Al asked.

"They were enemies of the State. Your brother was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. We'll have a guard on just in case. He's in his own room and they are going to put a cot in there with him. Someone can spend the night with him and the doctor said if everything goes well he can leave in two weeks, but he can't be on his own with the skull fracture." Roy said.

"I need to see him." Al said and it was clear he was filled with anxiety to see his brother finally after all of this time.

"He's in room 418 you three go on up and see him first. We'll be there shortly once we have a schedule organized for guard duty." Roy said looking to speak to his men alone.

"Come on Al. He's going to be so excited to see you." Winry said with a smile as she put an arm around Al's shoulders. Once they were alone Armstrong spoke.

"What do you not want the young ones to know?"

"Ed was tortured. He was whipped thirty times roughly and he was also drown and resuscitated multiple times. It's how he developed pneumonia. The doctor is worried about PTSD and him being alone once he leaves. With these enemies after Ed he can't go back home. He needs to be staying with someone that can keep an eye on him. I'm going to petition the Fuhrer to allow whomever wishes to stay behind to help with protection detail and to find those that are responsabile and Scar. I think given the current situation he will approve of the request. Any of you that would like to be apart of that let me know."

"He can stay with me." Hughes easily said.

"Ed's going to be staying with me. I'll have the best chance of protecting him should any of these enemies appear. He also won't want to put your family at risk." Roy said.

"I will always be there to protect the young Elric brothers." Armstrong said.

"Ya I'm in." Havoc said.

The rest of them easily agreed to stay in Central to help. Ed was one of them and he was apart of their family. They weren't going to leave him on his own with this.

"Make no mistake. I'm not looking to make arrests. There is no trial for these three that have done this to him. The mission is hunt and kill. I will not risk them breaking out and hurting Ed once again. You shoot to kill. Anyone have any problems with that?" Roy said in a deadly tone and the others didn't even object to it. They were all pissed by what had happened to their youngest family member. None of them would lose any sleep over their deaths.

"Hughes, Hawkeye, a moment." Roy said and the others knew that it was time for them to leave. They all made their way towards the stairs to go up and see Ed. Once they were alone Hughes and Hawkeye turned to Roy.

"I'm assuming this is about the other situation." Hughes asked knowing that Roy left out a key point in Ed's injuries.

"I don't want anyone knowing. It's up to Ed whom he tells I won't take that from him. Dr. Lin took evidence of the assault and photographs of his injuries. From what the doctor could tell he was raped multiple times a day for the whole time he was there. He also has bruising on the inside of his mouth from forced oral sex." Roy said as he tried to keep his voice calm and even when inside he was fueling with rage that was threatening to explode any minute now.

"Those bastards." Hughes said not even bothering to hide his anger.

"How could they do that to him? He's just a kid with enough problems already. He might never recover from this." Hawkeye said with anger throughout her voice with an edge of hurt in it. Edward was a good kid, despite the trouble he could cause . He truly wanted to help people and he had a strong moral compass that made the others all want to be better. He didn't deserve any of this.

"It'll take time, but he'll get there. For now we protect him and be there when he needs someone, even when he doesn't know it." Roy said.

"Do you think he knows about Al?" Hughes asked.

"Unless they told him I doubt it." Roy answered.

"At least he can now take the time off to heal and recover from this. " Hawkeye said knowing that if Al was still trapped Ed wouldn't take the proper time to recover as he would have been more focused on his brother.

"Hopefully he does. We still have no idea who these people are or why they are a fixated on Ed." Hughes said.

"When he's able to talk we can ask him. For now we protect him." Roy said with determination in his voice.

The other two were just as determined to keep Ed safe and Al now that he was back in human form. They made their way towards the stairs to go up to Ed's room. When they got there they saw that everyone was there with Al and Winry right next to Ed's bed. Ed had an oxygen mask over his mouth and nose to help him breathe and he was hooked up to a couple different monitors to keep track of his pulse and heart rate. The doctors weren't going to be taking any chances with him. Roy couldn't help, but notice how small Ed looked in the bed. His skin was also as white as the bed sheet and he barely took up any space, especially with two limbs missing. It reminded Roy of seeing Ed back in the house after he had just tried to bring his mother back. He was so small and weak then and to think of how much power he had at just eleven years old. He was truly a genius, a prodigy.

"Winry, Al, do either of you know if Edward had trouble growing up socially with his IQ?" Roy asked wanting to be fully prepared for whatever might be happening with Ed.

"Why do you ask?" Wintry asked.

"Dr. Lin said that it's common with child prodigies to regress after experiencing a trauma. It's important that I know of any problems so I can help him or prevent a situation that may make it worse." Roy explained.

"Well he never had any problems really. He didn't have friends though besides me and Al. Even at school he didn't fit in really with the other kids. They used to pick on him for being smart and Ed used to get annoyed with them for being stupid. He mostly interacted with teachers or spent all his time reading when me or Al weren't around." Winry answered.

"He could be social and act like any other kid, but it was mostly around us or like Winry said with adults. His main problem was reading. Brother has this hyper focus that when he reads something he can block out the whole world around him. You could be yelling in his face and he wouldn't even know you're there. He'd snap out of it when you removed the book, but if you didn't watch him he would keep reading for days straight not stopping for anything. The doctors used to say his mind goes into this void where water, food and sleep just doesn't exist." Al added.

"Reading was the only time you could get him to sit still for more than five minutes too. He was always moving or fidgeting. And any book he read was always a research book or a textbook, never a novel." Winry said.

"He used to drive the teachers in school crazy because he was always asking them why or how to questions. He always wanted to no more until the answer was completely broken down. Mother used to say he was born able to read. He started reading on his own when he was just three. He was five when he first found Father's alchemy books and that same day he was able to transmute clay. Seven he was able to make a metal horse. Brother can solve anything when he puts his mind to it." Al said proudly.

"We know." Hughes said with a warm smile as he looked at Al. Al was proof in of itself that Ed was a true genius and an amazing kid.

"He never had any behavioural problems if that is what you are concerned about. He's always been a very well behaved child. Hyper active, but who could blame him? His mind was not designed for rest. He was born to explore and discover new and exciting things about this world. I always knew that he would never stay in Resembool forever, though I had hoped to keep him there longer than just nine years old." Pinako said.

"Some kids are meant to explore the world and some are meant to stay in their hometown and help the other kids grow. There's nothing wrong with either option." Hughes said.

"Does he still eat a lot?" Al asked as he didn't know anything about his brother anymore.

"All the time. I don't know how he can eat so much." Winry said with a small smile.

"It's the alchemy that he uses. Alchemy takes energy from a person and with Ed being young and the power of his alchemy it takes a lot from his body. He has to replenish that with food." Roy explained. It's why he never bothered arguing the expenses for food when Ed put them through. He was not only a growing teenager, but also had a great deal of power when he used his alchemy so his body burns through it faster. Even before you add in the energy he uses when walking from one location to another.

"Oh well that makes sense." Winry said.

"The doctor didn't want anyone to stay too long. With Ed's infection his body needs as much rest as possible." Roy said.

"We'll head out soon." Pinako said.

"I'll take first watch." Hughes volunteered.

"It's fine I have it." Roy said.

"No offense Roy, but you look like crap. He's not going to be waking up anytime soon. You're better off going home getting some sleep, food and a hot shower before coming back in." Hughes said.

"He's right Sir. You will be no use to Edward if you are too tired to do anything. I'll drive you home and bring you back here tomorrow morning." Hawkeye said as a suggestion, but Roy knew that tone of voice and that look in her eyes. It was anything but a suggestion and normally where Roy could pull rank with Hawkeye he just couldn't do that with her, at least not tonight.

With a small sigh Roy turned to speak to the others. "Make sure they get back safely." Roy said referring to Winry, Al and Pinako.

"You got it Boss." Havoc said.

"We won't stay long." Winry said.

"I'll call if something happens." Hughes said.

"Be safe everyone." Roy said before he turned and headed out with Hawkeye right behind him.

They made their way into the car and Roy sat back to rest his head against the seat. Hawkeye didn't say anything as she drove them through the streets until they reached his house. Once there Hawkeye stopped the car and Roy opened his eyes to see his house. He had an overwhelming urge not to be alone tonight. He looked over at Hawkeye and saw the woman that he had wanted for so long. A woman whom he knew wanted him as well. They had a silent agreement between the two of them that they would keep their relationship professional and typically that had been fine with Roy in the past. But after everything that had happened with Ed Roy couldn't remember why he thought it would be better to keep the people he cared about at a distant. He couldn't remember why being the Fuhrer was so important if he didn't have a family to share it with. For the first time in his life Roy wanted more. Where before the idea of a wife and kids running through the house left him with a knot in the pit of his stomach. Now the idea didn't sound so terrible. The idea of teaching someone alchemy or how to fight. Teaching a daughter how to ride a bike. Coming home to a loving wife and having family dinner. Something Roy didn't have growing up. It was just him and his foster mother and the endless working girls that came and went. Roy never truly had a family until his squad in the military. Now he was looking at his house and thinking about what he would need to turn the office into a bedroom for Ed. What food he would need to get for when Ed could be released. Roy didn't think he wanted this, but maybe he really did with the right people.

Roy turned to look at Hawkeye and he could see the concern in her eyes. They had known each other for a long time now, even before he joined the military. There had always been an attraction and something much deeper than anything he had ever felt. Roy didn't know how he ever thought being close friends would ever be enough for him. He didn't know how he ever thought that the meaningless hook ups would ever satisfy him when the only woman he has ever wanted was the one right beside him always. The one he trusted to have his back. The one he trusted to kill him should he ever go against the side of good.

"Stay with me tonight Riza." Roy finally said.

"Roy, I thought we agreed it would risk too much." Hawkeye said softly back.

"Risk what? If there's one thing I've learnt over the last twenty-two days is that all of it would be for nothing if at the end I'm still alone. Life is short, especially for people like us. Why are we not allowing ourselves to be happy? We both feel it, have for years. Why are we denying it?"

"Makes things complicated at work."

"No more than they already are and you know it. I want to be Fuhrer to stop massacres from happening. But I don't want to come home to an empty house ten years from now or five years from now only to have nothing but a job in my life. And I don't want to die knowing that I didn't spend every minute that I could with the woman I love. It'll be complicated, but I'm willing to figure it out if you are Riza."

"Are you sure about this? You've been through a lot recently." Hawkeye started not looking to be some mistake come morning.

"This won't be a mistake on my half Riza. I've never been more sure of anything in my life as I am right now." Roy said as he moved a stray strand of hair from Hawkeye's face.

"Then what the hell are we still doing in this car?" Hawkeye said with a smirk.

Roy smiled as they got out of the car and headed up to his front door. Roy opened it Hawkeye spoke with authority in her voice.

"You're not getting sex tonight mister. You need some serious sleep."

Roy went and placed his right hand on the back of Hawkeye's neck with his thumb on the side of her chin. While his left hand went to her right hip and he pulled her in gently and brought his lips down on hers. Hawkeye immediately pressed her lips back, finally getting to taste each other after waiting for so long. Roy deepened the kiss slightly and when Hawkeye felt his tongue against her lips she easily gave in and opened her mouth to Roy. There was no battle for dominance as Hawkeye was more than happy to let Roy explore her mouth and finally get a taste of him. She put her arms around his neck to hold him even closer to her so their bodies were pressed up against each other. They pulled back slightly when they were running out of breath.

"All I want to do is hold you all night long tonight." Roy said as he placed his forehead against Hawkeye's.

"Sounds perfect to me." Hawkeye said back and with one quick kiss to her lips Roy pulled back and took her right hand and guided her into his home.

Hawkeye had been here many times before. She had her own key after all. There had been many times she had to come here to get Roy out of the damn bed when he slept in or was too hungover to get up on time. This time was different though, this time she was here because Roy wanted her here. He wanted her to spend the night with him and Hawkeye was really starting to second guess her no sex option. They made their way through the house and up to Roy's bedroom. Roy went and got out a t-shirt and handed it over to Hawkeye who took it with a smile. They then went about getting dressed for bed. Once they were ready they got into bed and Roy had Hawkeye curl up on his chest that he left bare. Roy ran his hand up and down Hawkeye's back as she spoke.

"Do you think Ed will be okay?" Hawkeye dropped the authority and tense voice she normally had for work and allowed herself to be her true self.

"I don't know." Roy said dropping his voice to normal as well. "I want him to stay here. I want to lock him away and never let the world get to him again. He's just fifteen and has been through so much already."

"It's hard to believe just what they have been through at such a young age. Did you ever find their father?"

"No. I think he's dead. I don't know why he left his family the way he did. He was obsessed with his research on human transmutation, but I thought he gave all of that up when he had his sons. He seemed to love those boys I was shocked to hear that he had left and was in the wind. I never thought when I went there to answer their letter that I would arrive the night they were trying to bring their mother back."

"To be in that much pain that they went against the laws of nature and everything they were taught. Those poor boys truly believed that the laws were set in stone and if you followed them nothing could go wrong." Hawkeye said sadly.

"Unfortunately they got a fast reality check that equivalent exchange doesn't always exist in the world. It was a childish belief from children."

"I think the day they buried their mother was the day that Edward stopped being a child. He was nine wasn't he?"

"About that. I know he spent two years training before he attempted the transmutation. Hopefully now that Al is back in the flesh Ed will relax and go back to being a kid."

"I don't know if he will. Not with these people after him. It's not easy to go back once you see how the world is. Al is different. He doesn't remember the past four years. He doesn't remember seeing the death and pain that they have. He could go back home and it never even happened. Ed doesn't have that luxury."

"He doesn't, but that doesn't mean he can't try and still have fun and be a teenager. What happened will change him, I just hope it doesn't break him."

"Did the doctor say anything else about his condition?"

Roy let out a sigh before he spoke. He knew he could tell Hawkeye anything and she would keep quiet about it. "He was tortured every day. To think that someone could look at him and hurt him that way. To whip him and rape him. He must have been so terrified."

"I can't even imagine what type of monster could do that to anyone, let alone a kid. Holding him for their own gain is one thing, but to go to the lengths that they did is just cruel and inhuman."

"Dr. Lin said it's common for rape victims to blame themselves. I'm worried that he is going to think he deserved all of this because of that mistake when he was eleven. There's a great deal of guilt inside of him that he keeps hidden from Al."

"It's a good possibility that he will think he deserved it. We'll all just have to make sure he understands that he didn't. He needs to let that guilt go or it will destroy him. They both were children and they both made the decision to try and bring their mother back. Neither one should feel guilty about how things turned out."

"That's easy for us, but to Ed he was the oldest and the prodigy. He was the one that should have done something different or better or not at all. He could also feel guilty for the way Al lost his body and was bound to an empty suit of armor for four years. He did what he needed to do to keep Al alive, but he probably doesn't always feel like it was the right decision to make."

"Most likely he doesn't. Maybe now he can move on from it with Al back to his body again. It's crazy though. I know he had the added power of an incomplete stone, but still he brought a body back to life basically. He did the impossible." Hawkeye said with a slight amazed tone to her voice.

"He did do the impossible. He performed a human transmutation and if the military ever caught wind of it they would take both of them into one of the labs for experiments. We need to come up with a cover story soon and it needs to be believable to all military personnel to make up for how the suit of armor is gone and in it's place a ten year old boy."

"Good luck on that one. A problem for tomorrow."

"Ageed. For now at least they are both safe again. That's all that matters." Roy said as he kissed the top of Hawkeye's head.

Hawkeye closed her eyes and gave a content sigh.

"I love you." Roy whispered.

"I love you." Hawkeye whispered right back.

Roy closed his eyes and just allowed himself to enjoy holding the woman he loves in his arms finally after all of these years. He knew that tomorrow would be another hard day, but he was confident that he was ready to handle it as long as he had Hawkeye by his side. Tomorrow he would start to help get Ed back to being healthy and okay once again.

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 _ **A/N: Ok can someone please help me and tell me what Ed and Al's Father's connection is to the military? How did he know Mustang and other Military Alchemists? I can't find it anywhere.**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Warnings: Sex**_

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Chapter 2

Hawkeye was the first one to wake up as she was so used to getting up at seven for the day, everyday. She was stuck in her military routine no matter how hard she tried. Even days when she got sick her body still woke up at the right hour. Roy on the other hand was very much not set in the military routine and never had been. He was always a man that enjoyed sleep and was never a morning person. Hawkeye opened her eyes to see that she was curled up on her left side with Roy's body pressed against her and his arm around her waist. Hawkeye couldn't help but smile as she had waited for this to happen for so long. She was madly in love with this man and she was thrilled that they had finally decided to do this. Now all she had to do was pray that Roy wasn't having second thoughts.

Hawkeye began to slowly run her fingers over Roy's arm and she knew that the touch would wake him up. Roy liked sleep, but he was also a light sleeper from being in war. Hawkeye knew Roy still suffered from what he had to do during the war and all of the people he had killed.

"It's too early Riza." Roy mumbled against her neck.

"It's seven in the morning." Hawkeye said back with a smile.

"My point exactly."

"We need to get up, showered and eat something before we can get to the hospital. I know you've barely slept in the past three weeks, but I also know you want to see Ed. Why don't you shower first and I'll start breakfast."

Roy moved and began to kiss Hawkeye's neck as he spoke. "Why don't you join me in the shower and then I'll cook you breakfast."

"It would be a more efficient use of time. And save water." Hawkeye said with a smirk.

"Very important." Roy said as he made his way up to kiss Hawkeye's mouth.

Hawkeye welcomed the kiss and pulled Roy closer to her. Roy moved so he was on top of Hawkeye as she opened her legs to allow him a better position. Roy moved his right hand up Hawkeye's left thigh until he reached her butt only to discover she wasn't wearing anything under his t-shirt. Roy pulled his mouth back only to speak against her lips.

"Are you not wearing any underwear First Lieutenant?"

"No Sir. It must have slipped my mind." Hawkeye said back with a smirk.

"We'll have to put that to good use then won't we."

"Yes I believe we do."

Roy moved back and picked up Hawkeye from the bottom of her butt and stood up. Hawkeye wrapped her legs around his waist and let out a giggle at the sudden movement.

"Shower, right now." Roy said.

"Shouldn't we get dirty first?"

"We can do both at the same time. I'm very good at multi-tasking." Roy said with a smirk as he brought Hawkeye into his own private bathroom.

The bathroom was one of the reasons he got the house to begin with. That and the kitchen and backyard. There was a large bathtub separate from a glass shower stall with eighteen jets coming out of the walls. It was a beautiful shower that Roy loved, especially on those long hard days on his body. Roy reached in and turned the water on before he placed Hawkeye down on the ground and removed his t-shirt from her as she removed his boxers. Roy then brought her in for another kiss as they got into the shower and the warm water. Roy pressed Hawkeye's back against the wall as his hands began to wander over her breasts. Hawkeye's hands were all over Roy's body and her mind picked up all of the memories associated with each scar that he had marked on him. Most women would be bothered by scars, but not her. She knew that each scar meant one more altercation that Roy had survived. It showed his true strength and Hawkeye loved him even more for it.

Roy moved his right hand and began to play with Hawkeye's clit as he inserted a finger inside of her. Hawkeye moaned and leaned her head back at the sensation. Roy didn't even waste a second before he was kissing all up her neck. Hawkeye moved her hand down and began to stroke Roy causing a moan to escape his mouth as well.

"I need you inside me. I've been waiting so long for it. I need you in me deep Roy." Hawkeye moaned as the sensation was growing too much.

"You ready for me baby."

"Hell yes."

Roy removed his hand and once again lifted Hawkeye up so she was at a better angle. Hawkeye wrapped her legs around Roy's hips to allow herself to have a good grip and Roy slowly inched his way inside of her. Once his tip was through they both moaned at the sensation. Roy slowly pushed the rest of the way in and once he was balls deep he stopped to allow Hawkeye to adjust to his size.

"Damn you're big. You feel so good." Hawkeye moaned as she tried to catch her breath.

Roy started to kiss her neck as he spoke against it. "You're so hot, so tight. Fuck I could stay in you forever."

"I might have to let you." Hawkeye moaned before speaking again. "Move or I'll shoot you."

Roy gave a small chuckle. "So violent."

He started to pull all the way out before he slammed right back in making Hawkeye give a loud moan.

"Oh yes just like that. Hard and deep."

"Hard and deep eh? Not slow and sweet?" Roy said teasingly as he purposely slowed down to barely moving at all.

Hawkeye gave a whimper before she spoke. "Next time. I've been waiting for this for too long. I need you now. I need you so bad it hurts. So move dammit."

"As you wish." Roy said against her ear before he pulled out once again and slammed back into her, hitting her g-spot as he did.

Hawkeye gave a small scream at the pleasure and that only made Roy go harder and faster.

"That's it baby scream. No one will hear you. Let it out for me."

"Roy, so good. Don't stop. Fuck don't stop." Hawkeye moaned as Roy pounded inside of her even harder and deeper than she ever thought possible.

"I can feel it. You're so close. Cum for my baby. Pour your sweet juices all over my cock."

Hawkeye gave a loud and deep moan. Roy knew her weaknesses that was for sure. He always remembers everything about her. Roy moved over to her right breast and at the top sucked hard to give her a hickey and that was all Hawkeye needed to get pushed over the edge. She screamed his name and Roy felt her clench around him and the heat of her cum covering his cock. It was enough to push him over the edge as he pushed himself deep inside of her and cam hard. They were both breathing deep as they felt themselves pulsing with the aftershock of their climaxes. Once Roy felt like he could move he pressed his lips against Hawkeye's and gave her a slow gentle kiss as he could feel her coming down from the exertion. After a moment Roy slowly pulled out of her and Hawkeye placed her legs back on the ground.

"Well that was worth the wait." Hawkeye said with a smile as she leaned her back against the wall.

"We should do this every morning. That's one way to get me awake." Roy said with a smile.

"No way Mister. You'll only make us both late. And I am never late for anything."

"Being late can be fun." Roy said as he kissed her neck once again.

Hawkeye placed her hand on Roy's chest and pushed him back slightly.

"No more of that. We need to get clean and you need to feed me after that. And that is an order."

"I thought I was the one in charge." Roy said with a smirk.

"Oh we both know you're not. Not even at work." Hawkeye said with a teasing smile as she placed her head back to get all of her hair wet.

Roy just gave a chuckle as he went and grabbed the shampoo and poured some in his hand. He then turned Hawkeye around and started to shampoo her hair. Once Hawkeye was all washed she did the same to Roy before they both got out and dried off. They got into their uniforms, but left off the jackets before they made their way down the stairs and into the kitchen.

"What would my lady like for breakfast?" Roy said with a smirk.

"Whatever is easy." Hawkeye answered as she sat down on one of the stools

Roy went about gathering ingredients to make some pancakes real quick.

"No phone calls. Ed must not have woken up last night." Hawkeye said as Roy went about making breakfast.

"The doctor said he would be asleep for a while. I'm hoping he'll sleep most of the day away. His body needs it. I know he has more energy than most people, but still he has been on the go since he was nine. He needs a break."

"He does need a break, but not just from missions. He needs an alchemy break. All that kid does is train, research and go on missions. He needs to learn that there is more to life than just his studies."

"Not so easy with a prodigy. With any luck with Al being back to normal Ed will be more open to relaxing and discovering new things."

"He needs to. It's not healthy to always be studying. He needs time to be a child."

"He can have all the time he needs off, assuming he doesn't hand his watch back in."

"He might do just that. Especially once he discovers that Al is back to normal. I know they always said that they were going to get their bodies back, but I think Ed was more interested in getting Al's body back compared to his own. He probably will walk away with Al and try to go back to a normal life."

"Ya, but what kind of life would it be? Al can go back. He's ten and doesn't have the memories from the past four years, but Ed. He's seen too much and his mind won't be easily content to do nothing. He's going to have a hard time being happy in a small town with nothing but open field."

"Would you want him to stay in though? Even after what he's been through?"

"I want him to do whatever will make him happy. I don't like the thought of him being out there on his own for missions and put into dangerous situations. But I also don't want him back there wasting all of his talents and his mind. He deserves better than that. I'd like for him to stay in Central or out East. At least in a large city he would be able to do something of meaning." Roy answered as he placed the plates down on the island.

"You want him living with you." Hawkeye stated as she knew Roy best.

"I do. I want him to have the chance to just be himself. Not this person that has the weight of the world on his shoulders. Not the forced adult. Just Edward. He deserves to figure out who that truly is."

"All children do. With any luck he'll want that too."

"For now I have to try and figure out a way to make the Fuhrer think that my staying here and not going back East is his idea." Roy said with a smirk.

"Protection?" Hawkeye suggested.

"Possibly. I can never get a read on the guy. I'd like to make it easy and not have to go against any orders. If I have to go back hopefully I can convince Ed to go with me once he is released from the hospital."

"Hard to say where his head is at currently. We won't know until he wakes and is able to talk. With a little luck we might get something from him today."

"I hope so. It would be nice to have an idea of who we are after."

"Only if he is able to. We don't want to push him if he's not ready."

"I know and I won't let anyone do it either."

Roy was not going to let anyone within the military or otherwise badger Ed about what happened to him. Ed was going to have a hard time as it was without someone pressuring him about what had happened. He needed time to recover from everything and Roy was hoping that Ed would agree to stay with him for that. When they finished eating they made their way out of the house and headed straight for the hospital after making a quick stop at Hawkeye's place so she could walk her dog. Once they arrived at the hospital they immediately headed straight for Ed's room. They found Ed still sound asleep with the oxygen mask on and Hughes leaning back in his chair. His eyes were tired and it was clear that he hadn't slept at all last night.

"Morning. How is he?" Roy asked softly so he wouldn't disturb Ed.

"He's good according to the doctor and nurses. He hasn't even twitched a finger all night. They want to leave the oxygen on him though for another day at least. They had to drain the fluid from his lungs again around three this morning. The pneumonia is giving him a hard time." Hughes said with worry.

"And the doctor isn't worried?" Roy asked with concern.

"Naw said it was normal considering everything he's been through. They want to keep an eye on his breathing and oxygen levels for the next day before they remove the mask. They said he probably won't show signs of waking for at least another six hours and even then he'll be pretty out of it and won't be for long. The doctor said it'll be at least twelve to eighteen hours before he's even able to talk to us and it was strongly suggested that we keep the conversations short and light. Any added stress will be bad for his health." Hughes answered.

"Alright. Thanks Hughes. You should head home and get some sleep." Roy said.

Hughes let out a sigh as he stood up and spoke. "Ya I guess I better. Gracia will be worried about Ed. Call if something happens."

"We will." Roy promised.

"Get some sleep Lieutenant Colonel." Hawkeye said with a warm smile.

Hughes just gave a wave as he headed out of the room. Roy moved around so he was on the other side of the bed and looked down at Ed. He didn't look any better, in fact he looked worse. The bruising had gotten darker with the hours that had passed and he looked like he was getting sicker. His left eye was still swollen and Roy knew he would need to get some ice on it to help bring it down. There was one thing he wanted to do first, especially with Ed too injured to wake up.

"Riza, can you help me get him in the bath so I can clean him? I want to do it before he's aware of what is happening."

"Of course. You start removing the bandages and I'll get warm water in the tub." Hawkeye easily agreed.

"Thank-you." Roy said and Hawkeye knew it meant so much more than just this moment here.

"We do this together. You're not alone, neither of you are."

"That's the best part about family. And I have a feeling Ed is going to discover that."

Hawkeye went into the bathroom to get the bath ready. Roy carefully pulled back the covers and saw that Ed was in just some boxers. He went over to his left side to carefully remove the bandages around what was left of his leg. Roy knew he would need to be careful with his automail ports so he didn't hit any of the nerves on the inside by mistake. Once the bandage was removed Hawkeye was back and they both saw the scars that came out from the metal plate. Scars that would always be there even when he got his limbs back. The skin around the port also looked red and irritated from his time in captivity. It was going to be sore for a while even after he was up and moving. They left the bandages on Ed's left arm as they didn't want to annoy the burns or cuts that were already infected. Hawkeye gently lifted Ed up slightly so Roy could unwrap the bandages around Ed's torso and his arm port. The same could be said for his arm port as it was indeed annoyed and irritated from all of the pain he had endured in his three weeks. His torso looked horrifying with all of the cuts, small burns and bruising. Not to mention he had lost some weight from not being feed for three weeks. The reality of Ed's injuries were staring at them straight in the face. It was going to take a long time for him to be healed physically.

With the bandages all off Roy gently picked up Ed and Hawkeye removed the hospital boxers so they could get him dressed once again afterwards. Roy carried Ed bridal style into the bathroom and gently lowered him into the bath. Ed didn't even stir during any of this, something they were both thankful for. This would not be easy for Ed and it was best if he didn't wake up for it. They knew they had to work fast and carefully so they could get Ed back in bed without him waking up.

"If you hold him up slightly I can wash his hair." Hawkeye said keeping her voice soft so she wouldn't disturb Ed. It wasn't likely to happen, but they didn't want to risk him waking up.

Roy gently held Ed up slightly so that his head was tilted back enough to allow Hawkeye to wash his hair without getting water or soap down his face. Hawkeye worked quickly to get the water all over Ed's hair before she grabbed the shampoo and started to work it into his hair to try and get the dry blood and dirt out of it.

"Watch the left side. That's where the skull fracture is." Roy advised.

"Got it. It feels swollen. Is that normal?" Hawkeye asked with concern.

"I'm not sure. We'll have to ask the nurse or doctor about it." Roy said with concern in his voice as well.

"There's a lot of blood coming out of his hair. It's not much, but he might feel better being clean at least."

Hawkeye rinsed Ed's hair and once she was satisfied that it was clean Roy placed Ed back against the back of the tub making sure his left arm was out of the water. He then pulled the plug to drain the pink tinted water before he put fresh in. Now they had to wash Ed's actual body.

"Do you want me to?" Hawkeye asked.

"No it's fine." Roy answered as he picked up the cloth and got it wet. He very gently began to clean Ed's torso front and back before he moved down to Ed's legs and then finally Ed's private area. Once they were both confident that Ed was as clean as he was going to get they then proceeded to get Ed out of the bath, dried off and dressed in clean boxers before Roy carried him back to the bed. Once at the bed Roy and Hawkeye worked on getting Ed's body wrapped back up in clean bandages before laying him back down and covering him up.

"He didn't wake up at least." Hawkeye said.

"I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing right now. I didn't want him to be awake while we were cleaning him, but some sign of life would have been good."

"He'll wake up when he's ready. You know he doesn't give up."

"I know, but everyone has a limit. All we can do is wait for now." Roy said as he sat down in one of the chairs on the side of the bed. Hawkeye took the seat on the other side and readied herself to wait for as long as it would take.

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It wasn't until six o'clock that night did Ed finally start to wake up. Roy, Hawkeye and Hughes were the only ones there at the time. Winry, Pinako and Al had just left thirty minutes prior to get something for dinner. They had been there since nine that morning and they only finally left when Hawkeye all but threatened them with her gun if they didn't. She had left earlier to get some lunch and then dinner for her and Roy. She wanted to get Roy to leave for a break, but she knew it wasn't worth the fight. She would save that for tonight when he would want to spend the night here.

Ed let out a weak moan as his mind was starting to wake up and the pain was registering within his mind. The pain was nowhere near the level that it had been when he had passed out. It was more of a throbbing pain than a stabbing pain. His mind felt really foggy though and it was hard for him to even get a straight thought put together. He noticed this beeping sound that was quickly growing annoying. He also noticed that there didn't seem to be that heavy weight against his neck from the chain. He also wasn't in a cold room on the hard ground. The room's air was warm and whatever he was laying on was soft. Ed noticed that there was something over his nose and mouth, but it wasn't making it difficult to breathe. It was actually easier to breathe now than it had been. Ed sluggishly moved his left hand up to his mouth to try and see what the hell was over his mouth.

"Ed." Roy said calmly.

Ed rolled his head in the direction of Roy's voice and the confusion was all over it. He had yet to open his eyes as that seemed like it would take every ounce of energy that he had to accomplish.

"It's okay Ed. You're safe. Can you open your eyes for me?" Roy asked gently.

He didn't want to push Ed, but he was hoping to see Ed's eyes, even just a little. They had ice on Ed's left eye all day and it wasn't nearly as swollen as it was earlier. He would be able to open his eye, but not by much. Ed slowly opened his eyes, but he could only keep them open for a second before they closed once again. Ed let out a moan before he tried again and this time he was able to open them just enough to see Roy's face. Ed didn't understand what was going on or where he was. The last thing he remembered was being in that room and praying for death to come. Now he was somewhere else with Roy looking at him.

"Hey welcome back." Roy said with a warm smile.

Ed slowly pulled what he now knew was an oxygen mask down so he could speak.

"Al?" Ed's voice was raw and it was barely loud enough for anyone to even hear it. All they could hear was the level of pain that was in his voice.

"He's okay. He's been really worried about you. Winry and Pinako are here too. The three of them went to grab something to eat. You did it though Ed. Al's back in his body and he's perfectly healthy."

"Dreaming?" Ed said as his eyes were starting to fall shut.

"No, you're not dreaming. You really did to it. All you have to focus on now is getting better. You need to leave that on until the doctor says otherwise okay?" Roy said as he placed the mask back over Ed's mouth and nose.

Ed let out a weak moan as his eyes fell closed. Everyone in the room let out a breath that they hadn't even known they were holding. Ed had finally woken up. It seemed like such a simple thing, but to them it was huge. It was the first step to Ed recovering from what happened to him. He was able to open his eyes and from there on out it would be easier for him to do so again.

"He didn't seem to be in much pain." Hughes said.

"No he didn't. His voice though is really bad." Hawkeye said.

"The doctor said it would be for a couple of weeks. He woke up though, that was the hard part. Now he can heal." Roy said as he sat back down. Now that Ed had finally woken up, he wasn't going anywhere.

"It's good that he's awake. Everyone will be thrilled." Hughes said with a warm smile.

"You're not going to be leaving now are you Sir?" Hawkeye said as she looked right a Roy.

"No I'm staying tonight." Roy said with determination and both Hughes and Hawkeye knew they wouldn't be able to convince him otherwise.

"Very well Sir. But please remember that the Fuhrer wishes to speak to you at some point tomorrow." Hawkeye said giving in.

"I know." Roy said not happy about it at all.

"What do you think he wants?" Hughes asked.

"I don't know. He's been leaving us alone so far, but I have a feeling this is as far as his leniency is able to go." Roy said with a sigh.

"And if he orders you back to the East?" Hughes asked almost afraid of the answer.

"Then I'll politely request some time off so I can stay here and look after Ed until he is cleared to leave the hospital." Roy easily answered.

"What happens when he is cleared to leave? Now that Al is back in his own body, I can't imagine Ed will want to stay in the military." Hughes asked.

"That's his choice. I'm hopeful that I can convince him to stay with me until he's fully healthy again or at least enough to travel. I want him to do whatever will make him happy and give him the best life he can have. I don't want him to continue having to be the adult to his younger brother." Roy answered.

"Well I don't want that either, but I don't know how easy it will be for Ed to agree to do anything, but that. It wouldn't surprise me if he pushes himself with this to get healthy so he can take care of Al. He's going to put up a front for him. He's done it before this and I don't know if Al will be able to tell with not remembering these past four years." Hughes said back.

"I won't let Ed put himself back in that position. He's always put Al first even over his own safety. I'm not going to let him do that anymore. Al can be taken care of by other people. It doesn't have to be placed all on Ed's shoulders. That's not fair to him. He's just a kid too." Roy said back.

"You won't get any arguments from me. I think you'll get some from Ed. I'll be shocked if he gives up easy. All of that guilt won't go away just because Al's body is back." Hughes said.

"I know, but I have to try. He deserves better. I know I'm the one that got them into this world, but Ed was going to find a way to fix Al's body no matter what. I thought it would be better if he did it at least through the military so someone would know where they were and with the resources to do it as safely as possible. He doesn't need any of that now. He has the chance to be a kid again and I can't sit back and watch him throw that away." Roy said.

"And we won't. No matter what Ed decides we'll be there for him." Hawkeye said confidently.

It was twenty minutes later when Pinako, Winry and Al arrived back from dinner. Hughes gave them a warm smile as he spoke.

"You missed it, Ed woke up."

"We missed it? Typical, so typical of him to make us wait all this time only for him to wake up once we leave." Winry grumbled, but she was very relieved to hear that Ed had finally opened his eyes, even if she wasn't here for it.

"How was he?" Al asked as he went over to the side of the bed.

"He was alright. He was only awake for a moment, just long enough to ask about you." Roy answered.

"Sounds about right." Winry said.

"He has always been worried about Al since the moment he was born." Pinako said warmly.

"Did he know about what happened to me?" Al asked.

"I told him you were back to normal, but the conversation never went further. From what we saw on the security tapes I would be shocked if he even remembered anything after the liquid hit him." Roy answered.

"Will you tell him?" Al asked.

"When he is stronger and able to register the conversation I'll have to speak to him about it. The people that have hurt him are still out there and your brother might know who they are or more about them." Roy answered.

"But he woke up Al, that's really good news." Winry said with a warm smile.

"It is really good news. In two weeks he can leave and we can all go back home. He doesn't have to do this anymore." Al said with a smile.

"Exactly, he'll be back home before you know it causing trouble." Winry said with a smile.

"And if he doesn't want to go back?" Hawkeye asked as the three adults were very interested in how they would react.

"Why wouldn't he? He left to get Al's and his body back and even though he doesn't have his body back, I can't see Ed going off on his own for it. He's only really cared about getting Al's body back. Why would he stay?" Winry asked.

"Brother doesn't need to be in the military anymore. He can come back home and do something else with his life." Al said not wanting to think about the possibility of Ed not going home with him.

"But do what? It's easier for you Al to go back, because you don't remember the last four years, but Ed does. He might not want to go back to living in a very small town with nothing to hold his interests. Are you prepared for the outcome if he wishes to stay?" Roy asked.

"But why would he? He knows that I'll be going back and Winry and Granny. Why would he want to stay away from his family?" Al asked confused.

"Because some people need more than just a simple life in a small simple town. Think about how your brother's mind works, his need for movement and knowledge. Could you really see him being happy back in Resembool?" Hughes asked.

Al looked down at his injured brother laying the hospital bed. Al had only thought about getting his brother back from his captors and when he was then he thought about being home with Ed again. He never even thought about what Ed would want or the possibility that Ed would want to be somewhere different. They were always together, that's just how it was with them and that was fine because they were only a year apart. But now they were five years apart. Ed remembered the past four years, but Al didn't have those memories. He didn't see the things that Ed saw, or had been injured the way Ed had been. It would only make sense that Ed wasn't the same brother he remembered. This Ed would be changed by the way he experienced the world in these past four years. It was a childish belief that everything would go back to how it used to be.

"I've foolishly been believing that everything would go back to normal. That we would all go back home and brother and I would continue on like we always have. But that's not going to happen is it? You're not going to let that happen." Al said as he turned to look at Roy.

"Al, all I want is what is best for your brother. The world is completely different to what you are used to. It's hard on you, I know. Because now there is a significant age gap between you. Before you were right there behind him and now he's five years ahead of you and not just one. It's not your fault, it's not either of your fault. But I am concerned for Ed's state of mind and mental health. I'm concerned that once he is well enough physically he will put up a front and act like he's okay because he knows you need him to be." Roy answered.

"Al, we're concerned that Ed will continue to be the adult and take care of you and focus his attention on you and not on himself. He won't focus on recovering from what happened to him on all levels. That he'll throw everything away just to take care of you because he feels like he needs to. The only way Ed will take the time he desperately needs right now and focus on himself is if you tell him it's okay. Even if that means he stays here and you go back home." Hughes added.

"But brother wouldn't." Al started to say, but was cut off by Winry.

"He's right Al. Ed would do just that. You don't remember him from the past four years, but I do. There's so much guilt inside of him for what happened to you. He'd do anything for you, he did even before all of this happened and you know that. He used to get up with you in the middle of the night so you wouldn't have to walk to the bathroom in the dark remember? I want him home too. I want him home so I can keep my eyes on him and know without a doubt that he's safe, but I can't do that. Because keeping Ed at home would be like locking a bird up in a cage and never letting it out. He'll never be happy there, he needs to fly."

"But that doesn't mean he will be gone forever. Edward always comes back, especially now that you'll be there. Sometimes when you love someone you have to let them go, but do so knowing that they will always return to you and be there for you whenever you need them." Pinako said.

"You're saying I need to tell him to go. But what if he really doesn't want to?" Al asked.

"Then he doesn't leave. But I think he will. No matter how much I'll miss him, how much we'll miss him, we have to let him go." Winry said sadly.

"He'll always be your brother Al. He'll always love you and be there for you. It's not goodbye it's a till next time." Hawkeye said with a warm smile.

"But who says that him staying away from home and being in the military is what's best for him? He's had to of seen some pretty horrible sights since being in the military. Isn't he injured now because he was in the military? And what about the other times before this one? Winry told me some of the stories about it. How is letting brother continue to risk his life the right decision?" Al said confused, but also concerned for Ed's well-being.

"It's not up to us to decide how Ed lives his life. It's up to us to allow Ed to make those decisions on his own without feeling influenced or pressured to go a certain way. If Ed wants to stay in the military it will be because he thinks that's best and wants to be. If he doesn't then he doesn't have to stay in and no one will make him. Regardless though, I think it would be best for Ed to stay with me for a little while until he is fully recovered and until we know he's completely safe." Roy said feeling uneasy about how Al was handling this.

"But he would be safe in Resembool and how would staying with you be best for him? We're family, you're his commanding officer. You're the one that has given him orders and missions that has put his life in danger. We're all we have. I can help him recover." Al said with a slight stubborn tone to his voice.

"But you're not all you have anymore. Al, you don't remember us, but we remember you. We've interacted with you. We've gotten to know you. You have a larger family now and I know this is a lot for you to be taking in. Everything is so different for you than you remember. That can be scary and overwhelming. I truly believe the best thing for you and Ed is to allow and encourage Ed to stay with Roy until he is fully healed. He needs the time to feel like he can be not okay for a little while. He's gone through three weeks of torture, that's too big for you or him to handle on your own or with each other. He needs an adult's help. The best place for him is with Roy, but he won't do it unless you say it's okay for him too." Hughes said.

"Ed had to be strong for the both of you for years now. It's your turn to be strong for him, even if that means you have to do it from a distance. I don't like it either, but I understand it." Winry said.

"But I don't understand it. How could being apart after he fought so hard to make me back to normal again, be what is best? We're always together. We slept in the same bed until we were taken in by Teacher." Al said and it was clear to the adults just what Al was feeling. It wasn't as much as Ed not being safe or on his own. It was that Al was afraid to be on his own without Ed around. They were inseparable and now they were talking about putting some serious distance between them.

"I think some time apart for the both of you would be good for you. Edward always identifies himself as an older brother and then an alchemist. He doesn't identify as himself, he doesn't even know who he truly is because he's never had the chance to discover it. It's been one responsibility placed on him after the next. He needs the chance to just be himself, to be the one looked after and not looking after someone. Even when your mother was sick, Edward was the one to take care of her. And you Al, you need to learn who you are without your big brother around. You need to learn to think for yourself instead of relying on Edward to figure it all out. It's not healthy for you both to be so dependant on each other that you don't let anyone else in." Pinako said gently.

"So what we can't be close now? What's so wrong with being close?" Al said as he was starting to get upset.

"Nothing is wrong with it, but you boys also need to understand that you are not all you have. You have to be able to let other people in and be able to function without the other present. It's not healthy if you both depend on solely each other. You need the chance to be kids too. I agree with Mr. Mustang that Edward should stay with him to give Edward the best chance of recovering and not being destroyed by what has happened." Pinako explained.

"I want him better too. I don't want him in pain or broken." Al said.

"We know you don't. We know this hard for you and no one is expecting you to be perfectly okay either. The time apart will be good for you both. It will allow you Al to figure out who you are now and how you feel about all of this new change in your life. You've through a trauma too, even if you don't remember it. Take this time to work on yourself without having to care or worry about your brother." Hawkeye said with a warm smile.

"But it feels wrong to leave him behind." Al said sadly as he looked down at Ed's sleeping face.

"And he's going to feel the same way about you, but it'll pass sooner than you think. You'll see, you'll both see that this is the best thing for you guys." Winry said.

"What am I supposed to do?" Al asked Winry sadly.

"Whatever you want. Al for four years you've been a soul trapped in a suit of armor. I know you don't have any memories of it, but if there is one thing to learn from that experience at all, it's that you need to live your life and love every second that you do. You can go back to school. You can find out what you want to do with your life when you're older. Find new things that interest you. You get to live. Ed risked everything just so you can live again. You can show him just how much you love and appreciate him for it by finding happiness, because that's all he's ever wanted for you." Winry answered with a smile.

"I just don't want him feeling like I've abandoned him." Al said sadly.

"He won't Al. He wants you safe and happy. This will be good for both of you." Roy said.

"I won't push him away, but if he wants to stay then I won't try to convince him not too." Al said.

"That's all we are asking." Hughes said with a warm smile as he knew it was hard for Al to accept.

They all stayed there until nine that night when it was finally time to call it a night and get some sleep. Roy had refused to leave, but they weren't expecting anything different from him. Roy gave the nurse a friendly smile as she came in with a clean blanket and pillow for him. Roy got the cot all set up and figured he would get some sleep while he could before Ed would wake up once again. Roy had every intention of being there for Ed throughout the night no matter what.

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It wasn't until two that morning did Roy's eyes snap open as a sound hit his ears. Roy was instantly awake and took notice that the sound was a moan and coming from Ed's hospital bed. Roy instantly got up and went over to the bed and saw that Ed still had his eyes closed, but was caught in a nightmare. He was still wearing the oxygen mask, because the doctor saw no need to remove it. It was helping him breathe and the doctor was more than happy to keep giving Ed all the help the mask could provide for him. Roy sat down on the edge of the bed and placed his right hand against the side of Ed's face as he spoke.

"Ed, Ed wake up."

Ed let out another moan and Roy tried once again to get Ed to wake up.

"Come on Ed, wake up for me. It's okay, you're okay."

Ed took in a sharp breath before his eyes blinked open. Roy could see the slight confusion in Ed's eyes and Roy knew that he most likely didn't remember waking up earlier.

"It's okay, you're okay Ed." Roy said with a soothing tone to his voice.

"Colonel?" Ed asked and his voice was just as hoarse as before.

"That's right Ed. Do you know where you are?" Roy kept his voice soft as he didn't want to scare Ed or hurt his head as he knew the headache would still be there from his skull fracture.

Ed gave a small shake as he moved his left hand over to the oxygen mask. Roy could see that he was confused as to what was going on and what was covering his mouth and nose. Ed went to remove it as Roy spoke.

"You're in the hospital at Central. That's an oxygen mask."

Ed went to take the mask off, but the strap around his head was making it difficult.

"Off." Ed simply said and Roy knew that there wasn't a point in arguing with Ed about this. His oxygen levels were good, the doctor and nurse had assured them of that enough times.

Roy helped to remove the oxygen mask from Ed's face and he placed it down in the upper right-hand corner of Ed's pillow just in case they would need it.

"Dark, bad things happen in the dark." Ed said with fear in his voice as his eyes continued to scan the room looking for someone to come out to attack him.

Roy reached over and clicked on a small bedside light. It wasn't bright enough for the whole room to be clear, but it was dim enough to show Ed the room, but wouldn't keep him awake either. Roy had a feeling, much like the doctor, that Ed would have trouble being in the dark after what happened to him.

"No one's here, but us Ed. You're safe."

"Where's Al?" Ed asked.

"He's at Hughes' place. Do you remember waking up earlier?"

Ed just gave a small shake.

"Al is back in his body."

"What? How?" Ed asked shocked and confused.

"It's a long story, one that we do not need to get into right now. It's too much stress on you and you are seriously injured right now Ed. But do you remember the red liquid getting on you?" Roy asked gently, he didn't want to get into anything tonight with Ed. He wanted to wait a day or two to give Ed some time to just heal before they got into any report.

"Vaguely."

"When the red liquid hit you, a lot of it covered your body and that made your alchemic power multiply rapidly. You subconsciously took advantage of that added power to pull Al's body out of the gate without an equal exchange before you lost consciousness. He's perfectly okay though. He was taken to the hospital and examined and kept for a few days just as a precaution. He's a perfectly healthy ten year old boy."

"Ten? But he's fourteen." Ed said confused.

"I'm far from an expert in this situation, but we can assume that since he was ten when his body was taken, wherever he was he didn't age at all so his body that was return was his ten year old self. He also has no memories from the past four years. The doctor just said he was exhausted and dehydrated slightly. He's been staying at Hughes' place for now. Winry and your grandmother are also here in a hotel."

"That makes sense. I've never thought about what state his body would be when he returned. The Gate is a void in between worlds. There is no time there, it has no meaning. What could have been an hour to Al could have been a year to the rest of us." Ed said before he coughed and the pain was clear on his face.

Roy got up and grabbed one of the plastic cups and poured some water into it. He grabbed a straw and went back over to the bed. He hit the button to put the back up slightly so Ed could get a drink.

"Here small sips for now." Roy said as he held the cup out for Ed.

Ed took it with a shaky hand and took a few small sips before he handed it back to Roy.

"Thanks."

Roy placed the cup down beside the bed as he spoke.

"How are you feeling?"

"Numb mostly. Tired. I know there are questions I should be asking, but I can't bring myself to care enough right now to ask them. I'm just so tired." Ed said weakly and Roy knew Ed meant he was tired on more than just the physical level.

"It's natural for you to be feeling numb and just exhausted after what happened to you. Don't worry about questions, they can happen another day. For now just rest and recover. I'm not going anywhere. Just sleep Ed." Roy said as he went and ran his hand through Ed's hair.

"Just sleep?" Ed asked weakly as his eyes were already starting to close. But he was still looking to confirm the permission first.

"Close your eyes. I'll be here to wake you up if you have another nightmare. All you have to do right now is sleep. Leave the rest to me."

Ed gave a small yawn as he closed his eyes. Roy continued to sit there and run his hand through Ed's hair until he felt Ed's breathing even out and knew he was back in a deep sleep. Roy sat there for another twenty minutes just watching Ed sleep. He couldn't help but notice just how young he looked in this moment. How young he looked against the white hospital sheets. How small he looked in this bed with two missing limbs. Roy wanted nothing more than to hold Ed and never let him go. To lock him up in a place where nothing could ever hurt him and no one could ever get to him. Roy knew he couldn't do that, but it didn't change the fact that he truly wanted to. Roy knew he had an uphill battle ahead of him if he wanted to be around Ed. He was going to have to figure out how to convince the Fuhrer that it would be better for him and his team to stay in Central. Roy didn't care though, he was going to figure it out no matter what. Roy made his way back over to the cot and laid down once again. He would need to keep up on his rest as well so he could stay helping Ed with the demons that were deep within him.

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It was eight the next morning when the door opened and the Fuhrer walked in. Roy had already been awake at seven when the nurse came in to check in on Ed and take his vitals. She moved the oxygen mask off from his pillow and put it away. She reassured Roy that Ed no longer needed it and that the fluid in his lungs had not returned. He still had a pretty severe case of pneumonia, but it did not require oxygen anymore. Roy instantly stood up from the bed and stood straight and saluted the Fuhrer as he walked in. The Fuhrer just gave Roy a warm smile as he spoke.

"Relax Colonel, I'm just here for a friendly chat."

Roy dropped the salute, but he didn't allow his body to relax. He knew if the Fuhrer was here, it was regarding work. Roy knew he would need to have this conversation, but he was hoping he would have a few more hours before that.

"How is he?" The Fuhrer asked in a whisper as he moved over to Roy so they could talk without risking waking Ed.

"As well as can be expected Sir." Roy whispered back.

"I'd imagine worse than that. I've received a brief overview of his injuries. Have you been able to speak to him yet regarding who captured him?"

"Not yet Sir. He woke up for the first time yesterday, but he was in no shape to talk about anything. I'm hopeful that later today he might be able to handle a small conversation. His voice is very hoarse and painful to talk right now."

"Of course. I know you are worried about him, you and your team are. You all have worked tirelessly to try and locate him and you succeed in rescuing the young Major. I wanted to discuss with you your plans for the next stage."

"Sir?" Roy asked as he wasn't too sure what the Fuhrer had meant by that.

"I'm no fool Mustang. I know you care about the boy's welfare. That's why I've allowed him to remain under your command. You care about your team Colonel. It would be foolish of me to think that you would let it go now and return to your normal duties. What is it you would like to ask me Colonel?"

"I'd like for my squad and I to remain here to investigate this kidnapping and work protection on Fullmetal until these attackers are caught Sir."

"As I knew you would." The Fuhrer said as he pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pocket and handed it over to Roy as he continued. "New orders for you and your men. You are to transfer back here to Central. I want you working with Lieutenant Colonel Hughes to track down these bastards and take them out by any means necessary."

"I have to say I wasn't expecting transfers Sir." Roy said just barely keeping the shocked tone from his voice.

"I want Fullmetal close from now on. If I were to transfer only him it would place him under a different commanding officer as you know. He's done very well under your command and I believe he will turn out to be a very valuable asset to this country if he continues to learn from you. I think it's time to have you and your men return to Central. Fullmetal is very valuable to this country. He is known as the people's alchemist as you know. I can't risk upsetting an entire country by allowing something like this to go unpunished. There is a great deal of potential inside of him still untapped. Central is exactly where I want him to be. You and your team will find who did this and you will keep him safe."

"We will Sir. No matter what." Roy easily promised with determination in his voice.

"I have no doubt about that Colonel. Make sure he understands that he can have all the time off he needs to recover from this. I'm not about to put a solider back in the field when they are not ready, especially one as precious as him. The future of this country depends on his safety Colonel, make sure he has it."

"I will Sir."

"Keep me updated Colonel on his progress and when you are ready to move out to terminate the threat. If you need extra men let me know."

"I will Sir."

"And his brother? What happened to him?"

"His armor was destroyed in the fight. Without it he is unable to be in the field. I believe he is going to be returning back home for the time being." Roy lied. He didn't know what story to give, but after thinking about it for hours Roy figured that given the power in Ed's alchemy it wouldn't be that far of a stretch to say that he could have used a seal to make the armor move with his brother inside of it. Though if Ed ever had to prove that Roy didn't know what they would do.

"Oh he got his body back. Good for him. That will ease Fullmetal's mind."

"Sir?" Roy asked shocked that the Fuhrer had known that the armor was empty.

The Fuhrer gave a small chuckle to the shocked face. "Really Colonel did you think I wouldn't notice it was completely hollow inside. You could tell every step he took."

"I'm sorry Sr. I know keeping something as serious as the taboo a secret from you goes against my pledge to you and the military." Roy started, but the Fuhrer cut him off.

"Nonsense Mustang. I'm glad you kept quiet about it. I was not about to let two young boys be arrested over a mistake they made at such a young age. I kept it quiet because I didn't want to see either of them locked up in some lab being experimented on. Those boys made a terrible mistake and no one knew that better than them. I'm just glad it worked out for them in the end."

"Thank-you Sir. It means a great deal to me that you didn't punish either of them."

"Still, one day I would like a report about how someone so young was able to not only survive the taboo, but do the impossible by sealing a soul to an object. It would be helpful down the line for research."

"I'll mention it to him at a later time Sir."

"I'll get going now. You take all the time you need to be away from the office. Any paperwork you have can always be done remotely. Get him better Colonel, that is your only priority right now." The Fuhrer ordered.

"Yes Sir. I will. I appreciate your support in this."

"He's irreplaceable. Have a good day Colonel"

"You too Sir."

The Fuhrer made his way back out of the room and Roy couldn't help the breath that escaped his mouth. He had no idea what to make of what just happened. He certainly wasn't expecting the Fuhrer to not only grant him permission to hunt down these bastards and stay with Ed, but he had transferred them all back to Central. It was no secret that Roy wanted to be in Central. That is where all the politics would take place and allow him the chance to make his way even higher up through the chain of command. Still, he didn't think he had the Fuhrer's support for it and Roy didn't know what to make of the way he spoke highly of Ed. Roy didn't want Ed to be used for political means or groomed as a weapon one day. For now Roy was just going to be thankful that he had what he needed to make sure Ed would be safe and leave it at that. He had to focus on one problem at a time and figuring out the Fuhrer's motives was not his top priority. Roy made his way into the bathroom to get freshened up and dressed once again before the others would arrive. He had just sat down beside Ed's bed when the door opened and his team walked in.

"Hey Colonel, how is he today?" Breda asked.

"He no longer needs the oxygen mask and he woke up around two this morning."

"How was he?" Hughes asked.

"He was better than earlier. He asked about Al again and I told him that he was back to human form and staying with you. He asked how and I told him it had something to do with the red liquid that got dumped onto him. He didn't have much energy or strength passed that. He did have a problem with the room being dark. He settled rather quickly once I turned a side light on for him."

"Well the doc did say that he might have problems with the dark after what happened." Havoc said.

"Seems he would be right about that." Fuery added.

"The Fuhrer was here not too long ago." Roy said and that brought everyone's attention to him.

"What happened?" Hughes asked.

"He came by to check in on Fullmetal. We've all been issued transfers back to Central. And given the orders to find those that are responsible for the current situation and take them out, along with providing protection to Fullmetal."

"Well that is unexpected." Hughes said just as shocked as Roy had been.

"Is he up to something?" Havoc asked.

"According to him Fullmetal is a very valuable asset to the military and he wants him here in Central. However, he knew that Fullmetal wouldn't appreciate a new commanding officer and that I wouldn't leave without my squad, so we're all being brought back here. The Fuhrer is very interested in him." Roy said as he took a look over to Ed still sound asleep in bed.

"That might not be a good thing." Hawkeye said with caution in her voice.

"He could be looking to use the Chief as a political pawn or a human weapon." Havoc said with dread in his voice.

"Could be any number of things. For now we got what we wanted." Roy said.

"We can keep an eye on Ed and make sure he is healing properly. Did the Fuhrer say how long we had or he had?" Hughes asked.

"Just that he could take as long as he needed. I didn't bother mentioning the possibility of him not wanting to continue to be in the military after this. I don't know how he would react to that news. He also knew that Al was not inside the armor and was happy he got his body back." Roy said.

"What? How long has he known?" Hughes asked with concern.

"Apparently since he first met him. Said he could hear the hollowness within the armor and knew it was empty. He kept quiet because he didn't wait either boy to be placed in a lab and experimented on. He is interested in having a report from Fullmetal about how he did it and why it worked for him."

"Why though? Lab 5 had a soul transmuted to a suit of armor, two of them to the same one. So why would Ed's experience matter?" Fuery asked.

"Maybe they did it differently. Edward could be the first one to actually perform the transmutation without a lab and previous research. He was also young when he did it. By all accounts it should have been impossible." Hawkeye said.

"He was able to do it, but he doesn't talk about it. I've never even asked him what happened that night in detail. He hasn't been ready for that conversation. But Fuery is right, they have already successfully sealed a soul to a suit of armor, so why the interest in the way Fullmetal did it? They could be looking for a different or easier way to create more armored soldiers. That section of the military has yet to be identified. Someone was keeping it running. Someone was providing the funding for all of the machines and bills associated with it. We need to identify the person or persons involved in this and question them. We need to know everything we can about whatever operation is going on underneath the military's nose." Roy said.

"I've got my team working on it. I've limited it to only a handful of people I can trust completely with this. We don't know who we can trust right now. For something like this to be happening there is more than just one person involved. We'll find them." Hughes said with confidence.

"Have you gotten anything from the tapes?" Havoc asked.

"We're going through them. It's a lot of video hours though." Hughes answered.

"I can come down and help you go through some of them." Fuery offered.

"That be great if you could. I also have a team investigating where Scar may be. We don't know if he's still in city or not so be careful when you're outside Roy." Hughes said.

"I'll be fine. " Roy simply said.

"Why do you think Scar helped Ed?" Havoc asked.

"We don't know if he was helping or trying to destroy the red liquid. He set off the explosion, but he didn't stop long enough to help Fullmetal in the fight. We won't know what his reason was until we can ask him and that might not happen. We have orders to find and kill." Roy answered.

"Ed might know, but I doubt it. That might be a question we never get an answer to." Hughes said.

"How are the others doing?" Hawkeye asked Hughes as he was the one with the most contact with Ed's family.

"They seem to be doing alright considering. I'm concerned about Al though. He doesn't seem to be handling this as I had expected him to." Hughes answered.

"I think he's just been through so much recently that it's taking some time for him to adjust is all. It can't be easy to wake up and find out that four years have gone by and you haven't aged a bit." Havoc said.

"It's not easy. It'll take some time, but Al is a good kid he'll pull through." Roy said.

"I hope so, because if not Ed will be blaming himself for it." Hughes said with concern for Ed's mental health once again.

"They should be here shortly. Lieutenant Ross was going to pick them up." Fuery supplied.

"It goes without saying that none of this conversation gets repeated to any of them and I will handle when to tell Fullmetal." Roy ordered.

They all said yes sir to that and the conversation was over as the door opened and the Rockbells and Al walked in. They all gave the soldiers a warm smile before Al spoke.

"How is he?"

"He's doing well. He woke up around two this morning and he was able to stay awake and talk for a few minutes. He asked about you again and I told him that you were fine and back to normal. He should wake up today and you can talk to him." Roy answered.

"How was his voice?" Pinako asked.

"Hoarse and painful. It would be best to keep any questions to a minimum for a little while." Roy answered.

"We won't pester him. Just seeing him awake is enough for me and I need to know what he wants me to do about his automail. If he wants me to try a new metal or not." Winry said.

"Once we know we can begin working on them." Pinako added.

Ed let out a groan and everyone's attention turned to him. Ed slowly blinked his eyes open as he spoke. "You people are loud."

Ed's voice was still as hoarse as it had been last night and only Roy had expected the sound. Roy could see the sympathetic looks on the others faces at hearing it.

"Sorry Ed. How are you feeling?" Hawkeye asked gently.

"Like I got hit by a truck, then run over and hit again." Ed answered with a groan as he forced himself to keep his eyes open.

"Sounds about right Chief." Havoc said with a warm smile.

"Why are you all here? Don't you have paperwork or something important to be doing? You aren't using me as an excuse to slack off are you?" Ed said trying to joke, but they could tell it was for their ease of mind more than anything else.

"Well you being in the hospital gives us the perfect excuse for that." Havoc said with a smirk.

Ed turned his head and took in Winry, Pinako and Al for the first time.

"Hey guys. Al, how are you?" Ed asked as he took the sight of his brother in.

"I'm okay Brother. Don't worry about me, you just focus on getting better." Al said as he went and sat down on the side of the bed facing Ed.

"I'm fine Al, you can't keep me down. I'll be out of here before you know it." Ed said with a smile that Roy could tell was fake.

"I knew you would be Brother. You're strong." Al said with a warm smile.

"Ya well you are still staying in this bed until the doctor clears you. I mean it Ed." Winry said as she went around to the other side of the bed and sat down and placed a gentle hand on Ed's chest.

"If you don't we will have no choice but to make you wait even longer for your new automail." Pinako said.

"Hey Granny. I think I lost my limbs." Ed said with a shy smile.

"I don't know how one boy can lose his limbs so much as you do. Really Ed it's a miracle you are able to keep the ones you have." Pinako teased.

"Maybe if they weren't so shinny people wouldn't keep trying to take them." Ed offered with a small smirk.

"Hey those limbs are works of art mister. It's only natural people would want them for themselves. And we need to talk about your new ones. I know the last pair didn't work so well for you. They were lighter, but they couldn't take much damage. My fault completely and I'm really sorry about that Ed." Winry said sadly with guilt in her voice.

"It's not your fault I keep getting into fights." Ed easily said to try and comfort Winry.

"I know, but they need to be able to withstand your fights. I've been doing some research on this new metal combination with magnesium I thought we could try that if you wanted to. It's meant to be lighter, but still stronger than chrome."

"I know you're trying to help with keeping the pain down and the weight, but the arm stopped working Winry. I was in the middle of a fight and it stopped. I can't take that risk again. Let's go back to the steel okay. I'll deal with the side effects like before. I need it to withstand everything that could get thrown my way." Ed said before he was taken over by a coughing fit.

Roy went and grabbed the cup and placed new water into it before holding it out to Ed. Winry took it though and brought it over to Ed's mouth as Ed took a few small sips like he did last night to calm the cough. After a moment Ed pulled back as he spoke.

"Thanks."

Ed's voice was getting worse from talking already and the others could already see the exhaustion kicking in once again.

"No more talking for you. I'll go back to the steel, but I'm going to keep researching and working on a way that you can have no pain and also it being as strong as steel. I'm going to figure it out for you one day I promise you." Winry said with determination in her voice.

"I know you will." Ed said with a small smile.

"Ed, I know you want to visit but you need to rest your voice and focus on your recovery." Roy said gently.

"Ya Chief you just rest for now and we'll handle everything else." Havoc said with a warm smile.

"We'll get going to give you some time alone with them and not surrounded by people staring at you. I'll come by later today to check in." Hughes said with a warm smile.

"Thanks for looking after Al for me." Ed said sincerely.

"We're family, it's what family does. I'll come by later. I'll ask the nurse what you can eat. I might be able to sneak you in some ice cream or something." Hughes said with a playful smile.

Ed gave a small sincere smile, the first they had seen since he had woken up yesterday.

"I'll come by later too. Get some sleep Chief, you need it." Havoc said as he placed a hand on Ed's right leg to provide a small amount of comfort to him.

"Wait, Al you don't remember anything from the past four years right?" Ed asked as something just clicked in his mind.

"No nothing. Why?" Al asked.

"My mind just clicked in on that." Ed looked over at Roy and he was hoping Roy would understand him without having to say it. "You need a report right?"

"Ed you don't have to do that now. You should rest first." Winry said not understanding what was going on.

"I know, but there's regulations to follow. It's military crap, even when the culprit is already captured." Ed said to Winry.

"Oh you guys caught the people who did this?" Al asked shocked as he looked at Hughes.

"Very late last night we were able to apprehend them. We were just discussing that before you three arrived." Roy answered. He didn't know why he was lying, but Ed seemed to be pretty adamant about them not knowing so he was going to respect that for now.

"Can you guys give us a few minutes?" Ed asked Winry, because he knew if he could get her to leave than she would get the other two to leave.

"Are you sure? I can stay if you want." Winry asked not liking the idea of leaving Ed alone.

"Ya you know how regulations are. Military personnel only. Just like before remember?" Ed was lying and Winry knew it, but from that she knew that Ed needed Al out of the room and not so much as her.

"Right, you and your Government regulations. There's too many of them I don't know how you can even remember them all." Winry easily complained and gave Ed a warm smile to let him know she wasn't upset by it.

"He doesn't really, that's why I also have so much paperwork from him." Roy said with a smirk.

"Come on, let's give them a few minutes so Ed can get this over with. Then he can focus on resting." Winry said as she got up off the bed.

"Are you sure Brother?" Al asked concerned.

"Ya Al don't worry. It won't take long."

"Ok, but you shouldn't be talking very much right now. You need to be resting." Al said as he got up off the bed.

"I will." Ed reassured Al.

Al, Winry and Pinako headed out of the room and once the door was closed Roy spoke.

"Care to explain why I just lied to your family Fullmetal?" Roy made sure he kept his voice professional as he knew that whatever Ed had to say was about work and not personal.

"You're gonna go after them right? The ones who took me." Ed dropped all false positive tones from his voice that he had used when the other three were in the room. He didn't need to keep up appearance right now and he couldn't find the strength to either. He was exhausted and in pain, he couldn't handle much more.

"We are." Roy simply answered.

"You can't." Ed said but he was cut off by another coughing fit that left him wheezing.

Roy went and grabbed the water cup again while Havoc went and put the back up the bed up slightly. They could see a small trickle of blood going out of Ed's mouth and they knew they needed to get him to stop talking. Roy held the cup as Ed took a few small sips to try and calm the coughing down. His throat felt like he had swallowed knives. Ed felt a cloth against the side of his mouth and saw Havoc wiping away the blood that had escaped his mouth as Roy talked.

"You need to stop talking, that's an order Fullmetal. Don't worry about your captors we will handle them."

"You don't understand. They're homuncului." Ed said with a shaky breath as he looked at Roy knowing that he would be the one to understand the severity of the situation.

"What? Are you sure?" Roy asked completely shocked and taken off guard.

"What the hell is a homuncului?" Hughes asked confused.

"I'm sure. Colonel, you can't not until you research them. They don't die." Ed said with a shaky voice before he started to cough again. All of the movement though was causing pain to his broken ribs. More blood started to drip from the side of his mouth as Ed got the coughing fit back under control.

Havoc wiped the blood away again as he spoke. "Ok that's it Chief you need to stop talking. You're gonna cause yourself more pain. You got some broken ribs coughing will make them hurt worse. Don't hurt yourself anymore than you already are Chief. We got this from here."

"He's right Fullmetal, no more talking." Roy said with a stern voice and Ed knew that he at least understood the situation they were in.

They could tell that Ed was in more pain than he was letting on. His body had a slight tremble to it now and his eyes were heavy, but he was forcing them to stay open because he was worried about what they would do. Only Roy knew the seriousness of the situation now as he was the only alchemist in the room.

"A homunculus is an artificial human that is created by a human in a lab." Roy began to explain.

"But if they are human, then why would they not die?" Falman asked confused.

"Because their body is made the same way a human only in the sense of their chemical makeup, but they don't have heartbeats or need to breathe. It's not simple to explain, but they are basically a humanoid creature. That being said though, no one has ever successfully created one, much less two." Roy explained.

Ed held up three fingers as a way of correcting Roy's statement.

"Three of them? Are you sure?" Roy asked.

Ed held up three fingers and then changed it to four before he made the maybe sign with his hand.

"So definitely more than two?" Hughes asked and Ed just gave a small nod to that.

"Well if these things are made in a lab then couldn't we assume that whoever ran Lab 5 after it was closed down made them?" Havoc asked.

"It's possible." Hughes said, but Ed shook his head.

"You heard them talking?" Hawkeye asked and Ed gave a nod.

"I don't want you to talk Fullmetal, so try and answer as best as you can. Did they ever say who was running the lab?" Roy asked as he turned his full attention back to Ed.

Ed just shook his head no.

"Did they say anything about how they came to be? Who created them?" Roy asked.

Ed made the hand sign for maybe.

"Did they talk about the man?" Roy asked trying to figure out how to get more information from Ed as he couldn't talk.

Roy wanted to wait longer before he had Ed do this, but now that he knew the true situation some of these questions just couldn't wait. Ed shook his head and moved his hand and pointed at Hawkeye. It was clear that the others were confused.

"A Lieutenant? The man is a Lieutenant?" Hughes tried.

Ed shook his head and motioned for Hawkeye to come closer. Ed then pointed to her again, but they still weren't understanding it.

"An assistant?" Fuery tried.

Ed let out a sigh and they could see him trying to figure out how to get his message across. Ed then pointed to Roy's crotch and shook his head before he pointed to Hawkeye's chest and nodded his head.

"He's having sex?" Havoc asked confused.

"He means the man is a woman you idiot." Hawkeye said as she rolled her eyes and Ed gave a nod thankful that someone finally got it. "Be warned Edward that, that is the only time you get to point at my chest." Hawkeye said as she moved back to her spot.

"And my crotch." Roy said as Ed rolled his eyes as best as he could. It wasn't his fault they couldn't figure him out. "Ok so the man is actually a woman, that is extremely helpful and it will also narrow down the suspects within the military." Roy continued.

Ed shook his head at that. He then touched Havoc shoulder and shook his head.

"She's not military." Havoc said and Ed gave a nod.

"Are you sure?" Falman asked.

Ed moved his hand to make the sign for someone that talks a lot. They could tell though that Ed was reaching the end of his endurance as his movements were now weaker and sluggish.

"Ok last question, there have been rumors over the years that state homunculi sometimes have special abilities. Do they?" Roy asked.

Ed gave a nod and indicated with his hand for Roy to come closer. Roy bent down and Ed moved his mouth so he could just barely whisper into Roy's ear. Roy moved closer once he understood what Ed was trying to achieve. Ed's voice was barely loud enough to be heard and it was filled with a great deal of pain as it shook. After a moment Roy pulled back and gave Ed a warm smile.

"Thank-you Ed. Just rest for now ok? We'll take care of it and I give you my word we won't go after them until we know how to kill them. We have soldiers watching the others when they are not here as well so they are safe and someone will be with you until we catch them. They won't get you again I promise." Roy said sincerely.

"They can't know." Ed forced out with a whimper.

"No one will tell them. It's your story to tell and when you are ready to tell it. Now rest, we'll get out of your hair so you can have some peace. Someone will be right outside the door so you can have some time with your family. Rest that's an order." Roy said.

Ed just gave a nod. Havoc gently placed his hand on Ed's shoulder and gave him a warm smile.

"I'll come see you later Chief. Do you need anything before I head out?"

Ed just gave a small shake of his head with a weak smile at the offer.

"I'll be back shortly." Roy said.

"Feel better Ed." Fuery said with a warm smile.

"I'll hang back here to keep an eye on things." Breda offered.

Roy just gave a nod of acceptance. They all made their way back out and allowed the other three to go into the room. One the door was closed Roy spoke.

"He only saw three of them, but one that is called Lust he said her fingers can extend into sharp knives. The one called Envy can change forms and finally Gluttony who eats everything. We need to be careful with Envy he could be anyone. We need a codeword that only we would know and when approached by any of us, we ask the code." Roy said.

"What about other people outside of us? How will we know who to trust?" Fuery asked.

"I have to do research on this more. I've only heard about it through rumours and whispers. For now we trust only us and if someone comes along and wants you to go somewhere confirm who they are. Ask them something only the true person would know. Memories don't go with someone that can change forms." Roy answered.

"This just got a shit load more complicated." Havoc said.

"What's the codeword?" Hawkeye asked.

"Red metal." Roy supplied.

They all gave a nod and Roy continued. "Breda, you stay here and keep watch. I am going to the Central Branch and start looking for anything about our new enemy. I won't be long and then I'll come by and relieve you. Fuery and Falman, go with Hughes and start looking through the tapes and see what you can find in the way of personnel. Havoc and Hawkeye, I want you both to go to the lab and see what documents you can find. Look for anything that might give us a clue as to what was going on. Take photos of anything that appears to be alchemic. Take the Major with you he might be able to help if alchemy was being used to hide any secret passages."

"Yes Sir." They all said.

"Meet back here tonight for six and we can discuss what we have discovered." Roy added.

"I'd like to stay tonight with the Chief if that's alright with you Sir." Havoc asked.

They could see the hesitation on Roy's face and Hawkeye spoke. "You need a night of proper sleep Sir. You are no use to Fullmetal if you are too rundown yourself."

Roy knew she was right. It wasn't that he didn't trust Havoc with Ed's safety. He trusted Havoc with his own life every single day. It was more the fact that he wasn't comfortable with letting Ed leave his sight. But if they were in fact dealing with three or more homunculi then he would need to be at the top of his game. He needed to take care of himself before more of his team ended up in the hospital. With a reluctant nod Roy agreed to Havoc staying here.

"I'll keep him safe Boss." Havoc reassured.

"I know you will. And I'm sure nothing will even happen, but at the first sign of trouble you call for backup, understood?" Roy ordered.

"Yes Sir." Havoc easily agreed.

"Let's move out. These targets are more dangerous than any we have ever come up against. Use caution and be smart. We all come back home alive no matter what." Roy finalized.

With that dismissal they all made their way out of the hospital and Breda took up his post outside of the door ready and willing to do whatever it took to keep the precious cargo inside safe.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Al, Winry and Pinako went back into the room and went over to the bed. Winry went over to the right side of Ed and sat back down on the bed and placed her hand back on his chest while Pinako and Al stayed on the left side of Ed.

"How are you feeling?" Al asked.

Ed touched his throat and Winry spoke.

"No talking. Good you need to rest it. The report go okay?"

Ed just gave a small nod and she could tell that he was exhausted from it all. She wanted answers, but now was not the time for it.

"You look like you could do with some rest Ed. Don't mind us, you just close your eyes and rest." Pinako said.

Ed gave a small smile and Winry moved her hand so she could run it through his hair. She knew that it always made him fall asleep and sure enough not even thirty seconds later Ed's heavy eyes closed and he was sound asleep once again.

"I hope he's okay." Al whispered.

"He's just tired. His body needs lots of rest right now. He'll be back to normal soon enough." Winry said softly back.

Pinako went over to a chair in the room and sat down in it to rest for a bit. They had some work to do with his automail, but it could wait for now this was where they needed to be the most. The three of them stayed quiet while Ed was sleeping. They didn't need him awake or talking, they just needed him there with them. They were family and they weren't going anywhere until Ed was back on his feet. Being here with him was the least they could do.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

It was eight in the morning when Ed started to wake up once again. He had fallen asleep not long after Winry, Al and Pinako came back into the room and he had stayed asleep for the rest of the day and night. Ed was still exhausted and feeling rather sick. His stomach was very nauseated and tight. Ed noticed that he was both cold and hot at the same time. His body was shivering slightly, Ed just felt terrible all of a sudden. Ed was hoping that his stomach would settle down, but after a few minutes and his stomach was only getting worse and Ed was feeling very sick at the moment. Ed looked over and saw Havoc sitting down in one of the chairs. Ed started to sit up hoping that it might help settle his stomach. The problem was, moving was very painful still and the pain made his stomach flip even more.

"Havoc." Ed said with a hoarse voice that was barely above a whisper and even that was painful.

Havoc's head immediately snapped up. He got up and went right over to the bed as he spoke.

"Hey Chief. You're looking a little green there are you okay?" Havoc asked with worry.

He had spent the night here just in case something happened. Ed had slept the whole night, but it was not peaceful. Havoc was up many times last night as Ed moaned or whispered 'no' and 'stop' throughout the night. Ed's body was too exhausted though so he never woke up from the nightmares. Ed would settle down each time, but each time it woke Havoc up and kept him awake on edge just in case Ed would need him. Now that Ed was awake he was looking very sick all of a sudden. The past couple of days Ed's health was alright aside from the pneumonia. The doctor had said that Ed would go through a level of withdrawals from the drugs that he was given, but his body hadn't shown any of that yet. Havoc had the feeling that now his body was starting to register it.

"Can you help me get to the bathroom please?"Ed said and it was clear to Havoc exactly why Ed needed the bathroom.

"Yup." Havoc moved the blankets and didn't even give Ed the chance to object before he gently picked him up bridal style and brought him into the bathroom. Havoc knew that Ed was trying very hard not to throw up because he didn't even argue with being picked up. Once Havoc got Ed back down on the ground Ed leaned back against the sink cabinet with his eyes closed and tried to breathe through it.

"You need me to do something?" Havoc asked.

"I just need some space." Ed said and it was clear to Havoc that Ed didn't want him to see him like this.

Havoc could understand that, because he would be the same way. The problem was Ed was only fifteen years old and it felt wrong to leave him like this. In the past three weeks though Ed had a lot of choices taken away from him and Havoc couldn't do the same to him.

"I'm only a call away if you need anything Chief." Havoc said gently before he turned to leave.

Havoc closed the bathroom door before he made his way out to speak to the nurse at the desk.

"Hello Sir. How are you today?" The nurse asked with a warm smile.

"I'm doing well, but Edward appears to be rather sick. He's shaking, nausea, cold sweats. I was just hoping you could check him out. He's in the bathroom right now and kicked me out." Havoc said with a warm smile.

"Of course. That poor boy has been through so much already. I'll go check on him." The nurse said as she got up and made her way towards the room.

Havoc followed her as he didn't want to leave Ed alone, even if Ed was in the bathroom with the door closed. It was just after nine when the door opened and Roy walked in with Hawkeye. Havoc could see the confusion on Roy's face when he walked in and saw that Ed was not in the bed.

"He's in the bathroom." Havoc started and then the sound of someone throwing up caught their ears.

"He's sick?" Hawkeye asked with concern.

"For about an hour or so now. He woke up feeling sick and started throwing up pretty much after that. Had the nurse check him out, according to her, now that his body has recovered slightly from his injuries the withdrawals are now registering with him. He's in full blown withdrawals. He's going to be sick for about a week between throwing up, muscle cramps, cold sweats, she said it could bring nightmares from the chemical imbalance." Havoc explained sadly as they all knew that Ed was already going to be feeling like crap before all of this.

"Why are you out here?" Roy asked slightly annoyed that Ed was in there all on his own dealing with this.

"The Chief kicked me out, even kicked the nurse out. I'm getting the sense that he really doesn't like the idea of anyone seeing him weakened." Havoc answered.

Roy removed his uniform jacket and began to uncuff and roll his sleeves. He was not about to let Ed go through this on his own no matter what he said.

"What are you going to do?" Hawkeye asked.

"Well I'm not leaving him in there alone. He's injured, sick, scared and exhausted. He shouldn't be alone whether he likes it or not." Roy explained as he went and grabbed a clean cloth.

"He didn't sleep well either. He kept having nightmares, he didn't wake up from them but he was moaning and talking in his sleep all night practically from them." Havoc said.

"All the more reason why he's not going to be alone." Roy said as he turned and headed into the bathroom.

Roy walked into the bathroom and saw that Ed was once again throwing up. He had his only hand holding his loose hair back so it wouldn't get into his face. His whole body was trembling and Roy could see the sweat on him. Ed looked simply miserable. Roy went over to the sink and got the clean cloth wet with cold water. It would help to soothe Ed's stomach and help with the sweat. Roy also grabbed a hair tie and grabbed Ed's hair from him gently and tied it back for him. Roy figured that Ed must have thought a nurse walked in and not him, because when Ed turned to see who had touched him Roy could see the shock in his eyes at seeing him there.

"Go away." Ed said as he placed his head down on his now bent arm that was resting on the toilet.

Roy gently bent down so he was by Ed and placed the cool cloth against the back of his neck once he moved Ed's ponytail out of the way.

"I'm not going anywhere, so accept it Ed. It's okay to not be fine all the time. It's okay to be sick and it's okay to accept help when you need it. That doesn't make you weak, it makes you human." Roy said calmly.

Ed was quiet for a moment and the only sound in the room was Ed's shaky breathing.

"I don't feel so good." Ed finally said in a weak voice.

"I know Ed, I know." Roy said sympathetically.

"I don't know how long I can do this for." Ed said with a thick voice.

"You're body is going through withdrawals. You'll be pretty sick for a week, but then you'll start to feel better. I know it's hard, but it's just like having a bad flu. We'll get through it." Roy said as he placed a gentle hand on Ed's back to try and offer some comfort without hurting his injuries underneath the bandages.

"It's not just that. The doctor told you didn't he? What _he_ did." Ed said as tears burned his eyes.

"Yes, he told me. I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry I didn't find you sooner. That I didn't protect you from that. I'm so sorry Edward." Roy said with a heavy voice that was weighed down by guilt.

Ed was fighting back the tears. He didn't want to break down in front of anyone, let alone Roy. He was his commanding officer. Ed couldn't show weakness to anyone, but he couldn't do it to Roy. He would never hear the end of it. He had to be strong, he had to always be the strong one. He was the older brother. He was the one in the military. He signed away all rights to being a child the day he signed his name on that contract. He had to act like an adult, it was the only way to get any respect within the military. He couldn't lose it now, not in front of Roy Mustang. Roy wasn't going to sit there and watch as Ed fought with everything in him not to release the tears. He had been through Hell these past three weeks and Roy was not going to let Ed sit there and try to continue to be strong and an adult. As much as Roy liked to tease the kid about being a child or acting childish, Ed truly wasn't. It was just something he could use to rile him up. In all honesty, Roy wished he acted more like someone that was fifteen and not someone that was forty.

Roy wasn't going to let this continue. He was not going to sit here and watch as a fifteen year old rape and torture victim sat there trying not to cry. Roy gently grabbed Ed by his shoulders and brought him into his arms so that Ed was against his chest. Ed started to struggle, but Roy spoke to calm him down.

"No Ed, I'm not going to sit here and let you do this to yourself. I am not your commanding officer right now. I'm a friend. And you are not a Major, you are a fifteen year old who has been through Hell these past three weeks. Scream, cry, I don't care, just let it out. I'll be the adult and you just be a kid."

Ed struggled for a moment more before the tears finally broke through and Ed curled against Roy's chest and just let it out. Roy held Ed closer to him and allowed Ed to finally release all of the pain he had been holding in for the past three weeks.

"I couldn't stop him. I tired, but I couldn't, I couldn't stop him." Ed said through the tears and Roy held him as close to himself as he could.

"I know. It's not your fault. It's not your fault." Roy said as he closed his eyes to try and get his own emotions under control.

"It hurt so bad. He wouldn't stop. I begged for it to stop, but he laughed. He said I deserved it. That I killed Al that night and he's right. I did kill my brother trying to bring our mom back. I did deserve it." Ed cried even harder into Roy's chest as all of the pain from the time his mother died was being brought out. Ed was breaking down and Roy couldn't help, but wonder how he missed it. How he missed just how damaged and fragile Ed truly was beneath his mask.

"You need to listen to me Edward. You did not kill your brother that night. You both were children and you both made the decision to bring your mother back. Right or wrong, it was both of you who decided. It doesn't matter that you are the oldest, you didn't hold a gun to Al's head. He made the choice to be in that room and he knew any number of things could go wrong. You were willing to sacrifice your life just to bind his soul to this Earth. You almost died from blood loss and you still suffer through pain from losing your limbs. I have killed hundreds of people. I know who a killer is and who is not a killer and you are not a killer. You didn't deserve anything that sick son of a bitch did to you. You didn't deserve to be tortured and you sure as hell didn't deserve to be raped. None of this is your fault and I don't care if I have to tell you that every single hour if that is what it will take for you to finally believe me. I'll do it. None of this is your fault and you deserved none of it." Roy said with a deep rage in his voice at the bastard who had made Ed's guilt a hundred times worse.

"It's my fault. I was supposed to protect him."

"And I'm supposed to protect you and yet this happened. It's not your fault Ed, it's not your fault. It never has been and it never will be. Never." Roy said sadly as he held Ed as close to him as possible.

Ed cried even harder than he was before and Roy couldn't do anything, but hold onto him and allow him this chance to just finally get it all out. It was the only way Ed would ever be able to move forward. He couldn't continue living with all of this guilt inside of him. It would destroy him completely one day. As the two sat there on the bathroom floor they were unaware of the two occupants in the hospital room able to hear everything.

Hawkeye was leaning against the foot of the hospital bed with tears going down her face. She knew that Ed had been raped multiple times, but it was one thing to know it and another to hear the anguish in Ed's voice as he broke down. To hear how much he actually believed it was his fault, that he deserved it for killing his brother four years ago. It broke her heart. Hawkeye looked up at Havoc to see how he was handling this. He was not one of the people who knew the true extent of Ed's injuries and as she expected she saw pure rage within his eyes. Hawkeye could see him shaking with pain and rage taking over his body. It was no secret among the team that Havoc saw Ed and Al, but especially Ed, as a little brother. He was the one person on the team that made a serious effort to spend time outside of the office with both boys. Havoc was the one that took Ed to the gun range and taught him who to shoot. Ed didn't really want to learn how to use a gun, but Havoc had made the decent argument that if something happened and all Ed had was a gun to protect himself, Al or someone innocent he needed to learn how to use it. Ed couldn't argue against that and he had agreed to go.

Havoc and Ed would often spend time together either going to dinner or just hanging out at the dorms. When Ed was around Havoc he could just relax and not be so adult about everything. Havoc was an only child and it was clear to the others that he also enjoyed the time he spent with Ed or Al. Havoc was a good older brother and like any good older brother he wanted blood. Hawkeye wasn't surprised that when all they could hear was Ed's sobs Havoc went out of the room. Hawkeye gave a look at the bathroom door and knew that they would be in the for a while. Hawkeye turned to follow Havoc as she didn't know what he was going to do.

Hawkeye followed Havoc outside and around the corner of the building and she saw him punch the wall. Hawkeye looked around and saw that no one else was around before she spoke.

"You do that again and you'll break your hand Second Lieutenant."

"Don't, just don't Riza. Not after all of that." Havoc said and Hawkeye could hear the deep seated pain within his voice.

"I know what you heard was hard Jean. It was hard for me too and I already knew about the rape." Hawkeye said keeping her voice soft and no longer hidden behind walls.

"You knew? Who else does? Why didn't anyone say anything?"

"Hughes knows as well. We knew when we found him what had happened to him. We didn't say anything, because it's Edward's decision on who knows and who doesn't. He's had a lot taken from him in his short life, we were not about to take one more thing from him."

"You're right, you're right. It's just, fuck he's fifteen years old Riza. He's just fifteen. He's going to carry that around with him for the rest of his life. He might not be able to ever be in a serious relationship because of it. It could destroy him. I know we're not dealing with normal humans on this, but come on, who could do that to someone? To a kid? He doesn't deserve this pain. It's not fair to him at all." Havoc said with tears burning his eyes.

"I know. He doesn't deserve this and unfortunately it's not something he's going to just get over. This will haunt him for a long time and it's clearly a lot more psychological than we had expected. We were told by the doctor that any past guilt Edward felt could be made worse due to the trauma and it would appear that was very much accurate."

"He actually believes he's killed his brother even though he knows Al is alive and well. They've warped his mind and his guilt from that night. There's no telling what else they could have told him during these past three weeks. He might never get better. What if he doesn't get better? What if we can't help him? What if we can't protect him from these guys? What if we need him to help us beat them? How can we put him through any more pain and suffering?" Havoc said with a slight panic tone to his voice, something that Hawkeye was not used to. Havoc was always cool and collected. He was laid back, something that was apart of his past from growing up in the country. Havoc didn't panic.

"We won't know what happens until after Edward is more recovered and able to talk about what he wishes to do. It's his decision on if he wants to continue being in the military or not. But either way he is our family and you know we will win this fight and we will protect him at all costs. You know we won't lose no matter what. We'll get him better Jean." Hawkeye said with determination in her voice.

"Ya, ya we will. No matter what." Havoc said with confidence back in his voice.

"We'll all be there for each other. We get through this as a family."

"He's like a kid brother to me. I never wanted him to go through any more pain than he already had in his life. I always made sure I was around when he got back from a hard mission or when he wasn't sleeping too great from nightmares. He always acts so tough, but it's just a persona, a wall, he puts up to protect himself. To make Al feel better. I always made sure he didn't have to be that person with me. That I would be the strong one and he would be the kid. This was never supposed to happen to him, not safe in Central."

"It shouldn't have happened and even though A got his body back, the price was too high. But we can't change that. All you can do is continue to be there for him no matter if he stays or not."

"What do you think he's going to do? I can't imagine he would stay. Not with Al back and after what happened to him. I know the Colonel wants him here, but I can't see Ed agreeing to that."

"I don't either, but he might shock us. All we can do is hope and when he's ready he'll decide. Our job is to protect him and support him, not force decisions onto him."

"I know, I know. I hate not knowing what he'll do though and I hate knowing that he'll want to be there for Al and he'll put that above himself just like he always has. He'll feel guilty for staying."

"And that is where we need to make sure that he doesn't. All we can do is our best and hope that Ed makes the right decision for himself and not for others."

"All he does is do what is best for others. He doesn't know how to be selfish." Havoc said and it was clear he was worried about Ed actually making this decision himself and not doing what he felt he should be doing for Al's best interests.

"I know, but we can't worry about that right now. He's too sick to be going anywhere for at least two weeks. That gives us two weeks to make sure that Ed knows he can make this decision on his own with his own best interest in mind. For now we protect him from everything that could harm him in any way."

"Ya. We should get back in there."

"You need to get that hand looked at before you go anywhere. You're lucky you didn't break it." Hawkeye said with a slight lecture tone to her voice that made Havoc smile slightly.

"I'll go get a nurse to wrap it don't worry. You get back to the room the Colonel might need some help."

"Everything will work out Jean. We'll make sure of it."

"Ya we will." Havoc said with confidence and determination.

They both made their way back into the hospital and Havoc went to speak to a nurse to check his hand over while Hawkeye went back into the room. She arrived just as Dr. Lin went to enter the room.

"Hello Dr. Lin. I'm sure if you heard, but Edward is fairly sick currently." Hawkeye started.

"Yes Nurse Yori told me. I have something that might help him." Dr. Lin said with a warm smile as he went over to the bathroom door and knocked.

Hawkeye couldn't hear any crying, but she could hear a hitched breathing and she knew it was coming from Ed. Hawkeye stood off to the side so she could see into the bathroom when the door opened, but she wouldn't be in the way either.

"Come in." Mustang said as he could tell from the knock that it wasn't one of his men.

The door opened and Dr. Lin walked in. Mustang could see the look on Hawkeye's face and he gave a small nod to reassure her that everything was alright. Edward was still curled up in his arms against his chest trembling. Dr. Lin walked in and closed the door behind him. Edward turned slightly so he could see who it was and saw that it was his doctor.

"Hello Edward, I heard you haven't been feeling so great. I have something that should help with that. Do you mind if I come in?" Dr. Lin asked gently.

Edward gave a shaky nod and Dr. Lin came in and closed the door behind him as Mustang spoke.

"Is there something you can give him?"

"Yes." Dr. Lin said as he bent down next to them before he continued to speak. "My main concern is dehydration and the malnutrition that Edward came in with. He hasn't had any food in three weeks and barely any water. We had him hooked up to a special IV to help with all of that and when he was awake and drinking on his own we removed it. With him throwing up though his body is very quickly returning to that state and it is very danger to his health."

"What can we do to help that?" Mustang asked as he continued to hold onto Edward.

"I have medication that can help soothe his stomach and stop him from throwing up. Once he stops throwing up we can hook him back up to the IV and get the fluid back into him. He will be sick for roughly a week and throughout the next seven days. It will get better as each day passes though."

"What if this medication doesn't work or it gets worse?"

"This medication works seventy-five percent of the time on adults. I've never given it to children before so I can't say with a hundred percent certainty that it will work for him, but it's the best option right now. If it doesn't have any effect then there is two other options we have."

"And those are?" Mustang asked looking to get all of the information that he could. Edward wasn't in the shape to be asking any questions just yet as he was still struggling to get his breathing under control.

"We can either leave him as is. I can have the IV hooked up and we just hope that the intake of fluid is more than the fluid he throws up. My concern for that however, is that there is no guarantee that he doesn't become too dehydrated. Along with it being very stressful on his body. Between getting sick and the muscle spasms he won't be able to sleep for more than a couple hours a day for at least seven days. It will be very stressful on his heart and his heart is already at a level of stress because of the pain. I also wouldn't be able to give him pain medication because it would dehydrate him even more. With no pain medication he will be in an extreme amount of pain and that will put stress on his heart. Despite his age, at that point he will be at a high risk for a heart attack."

"That's not an option then so what is the only other option we have should this medication not work?" Mustang asked as the seriousness of this situation fully hit him. He had no idea how dangerous this would be for Ed.

"The only other option is a rapid detox."

"And what is that?"

"It's basically twenty-four hours of hell followed by twenty-four hours of exhaustion. We would hook him up to a special machine that would slowly drain his blood, run it through the machine to clean it from any drug and then it would filter back into his body. It runs constantly so he is never low on blood at all. For the first day he would be extremely sick to the point where he wouldn't be able to fall asleep for long periods of time. He would throw up and get muscle spasms. Afterwards he would then spend the next twenty-four hours still sick, but he would be asleep for most of it and very rundown and nauseated. I wouldn't be able to give him any type of drugs because the machine would filter them out for the first day.. It would be two days of pain and being sick but at the end he would be back to normal and back on the road to recovery."

"That sounds very harsh on his body though. Won't that put too much stress on his heart?"

"It will be stressful, but it would only be for two days compared to seven to ten days. This medication that I am going to give him will hopefully allow him to go through the withdrawals naturally and smoother. But I fear that if it does not work a rapid detox is our next best option."

"When will we know if this option works?"

"Within an hour if he is still throwing up then it didn't take."

Ed moved quickly over to the toilet and started to throw up once again.

"There is also a concern for his throat. All of this throwing up is only irritating his throat and will make his internal injuries worse before they have the chance to recover. It could permanently damage his voice." Dr. Lin said as Roy went and rewet the cloth to place on the back of Ed's neck.

"Let's do the medication and see if it takes." Mustang said.

The doctor gave a nod and Ed had placed his head down on his elbow that was flat against the toilet seat as he tried to get the pain in his body to calm down once again.

"Normally this would be in his arm, but I can't do so without irritating his burns. I'll have to give him the injection into his leg." Dr. Lin said as he pulled out a syringe.

At the mention of an injection Ed's head snapped up and he began to panic. He pushed away from the toilet as he spoke.

"No, no, no, no please no. I'll be good. I'm sorry I'll be good please not the drug please." Ed's voice held pure panic and a pleading tone to it and Mustang instantly knew that Ed was confused about the situation.

Mustang placed his arm gently around Ed as he spoke to try and calm the boy down.

"Ed, it's not that drug. I promise you this drug will not hurt you. It's meant to help you get better. Dr. Lin is not the people that have hurt you."

"No please I'll be good I promise. Please don't please." Ed's voice was clearly begging now and Mustang felt horrible for making Ed to do this, but he had to.

Ed needed this medicine to try and make him better. He had to get Ed to relax so the doctor could give it to him.

"I promise you Ed, this will not hurt you at all. It's going to help make you feel better. I know you're scared and you wish we could just leave you alone, but you need this. I'm sorry." Mustang said as he gave a nod to Dr. Lin.

Mustang held onto Ed who was shaking almost uncontrollably at this point. Ed's eyes were watching everything Dr. Lin was doing and it wasn't helping Ed to calm down at all. Mustang placed a gentle hand on Ed's chin and turned his head towards him.

"Keep your eyes on me, okay? I'm not going to let anyone hurt you I promise. This won't do what that other drug did to you. It's only going to help your stomach that's all. If I thought he was a threat to you at all, he would be dead. I'm not going to let anyone hurt you." Mustang said with strength in his voice that Ed couldn't help, but believe. Mustang gave a nod to Dr. Lin as he continued to speak to Ed.

"I remember the first time I was in the hospital. I was eight and I had a cut on my left forearm. This other boy from my school had a crush on the same girl that I did. He wanted to show her how brave and manly he was by challenging me to climb this really tall tree that was just off the school's property. It was this massive tree that was easily fifteen stories high. The winner would get the girl, at least in our minds anyway." Mustang started and he saw that Dr. Lin gave Ed the shot already and Ed hadn't even noticed.

"That should start right away. I'll be back in an hour to check. Talking has been shown to help the patient relax and remain calm. Keep talking to him." Dr. Lin said with a warm smile as he got up and headed out of the bathroom and closed the door.

"You don't feel any more pain from the drug right?" Mustang asked.

Ed just shook his head and he couldn't help but place his head against Mustang's chest. Ed knew that when this was all over with he would be extremely embarrassed and Mustang would never let him live it down, but right now he just didn't care.

"As I was saying. I obviously had to accept the challenge. I was not about to look like a wuss in front of my whole class. So one day after school we all went to the tree and me the other boy started to climb. He made it about twenty feet before he discovered that he had a fear of heights and chickened out. I was so happy to get the hell down that I went too fast and cut my arm on a sharp branch. When I got down to the bottom the girl of my affection was so disgusted by the blood she ran away with her friends. I had the unfortunate luck of having to walk home with my arm covered in blood to my foster mother."

"Foster mother?" Ed said weakly.

"Mhm, my father's sister actually. She took me in when I was five after both of my parents died from an illness. She is not the most traditional mother type. She let me get away with a lot of stuff, but when I was hurt due to my own actions she saw no need to comfort me. When I got home and told her what happened she took me to the hospital because she said I needed stitches. I had no clue what that even was. The whole way there she told me how the doctor uses a large sewing needle and thread to close the cut up. That the doctor doesn't give pain medication or numb the area. He would just continue to jab the needle over and over again through my arm. Said it would take easily fifty minutes to get the wound close and by then I would have been happier to have it cut off. Needless to say, by the time we got to the hospital I was so worked up and terrified that I threw up all over this beautiful nurse the second I was in the exam room. After that the doctor obviously explained what he would do and it was nowhere near how bad my mother made it sound. It didn't even hurt and I only needed five pathetic stitches. But I learned a very important lesson that day on being stupid and making reckless decisions without thinking of the consequences."

"Did you at least get the girl?"

"I did actually. The next day she came over to me and gave me my first kiss. We were together for two months before I started to date her best friend." Mustang said with a smile.

Ed gave a small chuckle to that. "Pervert."

"I am not a pervert. I am a ladies man and I have a great story for my first kiss. What's yours?"

"I'll let you know when it happens."

"I'll bet you fifty dollars it will be with that mechanic girl of yours." Mustang said with a smirk.

"You're on. We're just friends. Best friends."

"Sometimes best friends become more. You've known her your whole life?"

"Yup, she lived next door. She's five months older than me."

"And you're a year older than Al."

"Ten months. Our mom got pregnant almost right away. She wanted to have her kids closer together."

"That is close. How old were you when your father left?"

"Hohenheim is not my father. And I was three when he left one early morning. He didn't even say goodbye and we were standing right there." Ed said with a hoarse voice.

"I'm sorry. I didn't know you were present when he left."

"You knew him though. He wrote to you."

"I didn't know him directly. I had never met the man, but he was more of a legend within the military. I was trying to find him and convince him to become a State Alchemist. It would have been good for my career. Hohenheim knew a lot of State Alchemists, but only ever contacted them through letters. He wrote me once looking for information on Flame Alchemy, I wrote him back letting him know it was only something I would discuss in person. I never heard back from him."

"He was always doing research. When he first left I used to go into his office and read his notes and his books. I started to learn Alchemy in hope that when he came back he would be so proud that he wouldn't want to leave again. I was stupid."

"No you weren't. You were a little boy that wanted his father around. That doesn't make you stupid Ed. I'm sorry you didn't have him in your life. Every child, especially a son, needs a father in their life."

"You didn't."

"No, but I had my foster mother and a big unconventional family to keep me company and be there for me. After your mother died, you only had three people in your life. But you have a lot more now."

Ed felt his stomach flip again and he went over to the toilet and threw up once again. Roy moved the cloth and placed it against Ed's neck to try and get his stomach to calm down. Roy was really hoping this medication would work, but he had a feeling that Ed would continue to be the exception once again. The problem was Ed didn't have much of anything in his stomach. He was just throwing up a clear liquid or dry heaving. Ed placed his head down and Roy could see the pain all over his face.

"It's going to be okay Ed." Roy said, as he ran a soothing hand along Ed's back.

"It hurts. I just want to sleep." Ed said with a broken voice.

"I know. I wish I could take this away from you. We're going to get through this together. You're not alone Ed."

"I don't want Al here. It'll only upset him."

"You don't have to see anyone you don't want to. You just focus on getting better,."

Ed began to throw up once again and Roy felt his heart break knowing just how much pain he would be going through. Between his throat and his broken ribs, throwing up would be the last thing he needed. For the next hour Ed spent most of it throwing up and it was clear that the medication was not working for him. By the time Dr. Lin came back into the room to check on Ed to see that he was still throwing up and he was trembling even worse now from the dehydration.

"He's been like this most of the time." Roy stated.

"The medication isn't working. You need to make a decision on what the next step is. As his Commanding Officer the decision falls to you. I either prep him for rapid detox or we wait it out and see if he can go through the withdrawals naturally."

"What are the risks if he continues on this way?"

"The stress on his heart like I said earlier. Withdrawals the natural way can take anywhere between ten and fourteen days. The first seven days will be the worst and just like this. Afterwards it will lessen more each day. Due to his current condition though, he is at risk of falling into a coma and a heart attack. His heart is weak from the injuries, the drugs and the dehydration. If he does have a heart attack there is no guarantee that I could get his heart started again. Both options have risks."

"What do you recommend?"

"The rapid detox at this point is Edward's best option. It will be tough for the first twenty-four hours, but after that he will feel a great deal better. During the next day he will start to slowly feel better as each hour passes. We can have him hooked up to an IV to help keep him hydrated as best as we can. Like I've mentioned he won't be able to have any medication as it will be cleaned from his system almost as fast as it will go in. It will still be hard on his heart, but I will have him placed on a heart monitor to keep track of his heart rate."

"How long will he be hooked up to the machine?"

"At least a day. Afterwards blood will be drawn to check his levels and see if he is cleared or not."

"Will it take at least a day or could his system be cleaned out faster than that?"

"It's possible. He is younger and his body could burn through it faster. A nurse will draw blood at the start and at the twelve hour mark to see if his levels are in a safer range. If they are low enough he could be hooked off earlier and finish the withdrawals naturally at a lower risk."

"Is there a possibility of that?"

"I won't know until the blood work comes back. Edward did come in with a very high level of this drug in his system. It's taken a couple of days for the effects to wear off of Edward before the withdrawals even set in. It all really depends on Edward's system and how his body burns through the drug."

Roy gave a nod of understanding as he spoke. "Do the rapid detox. He can't go through this for another ten days."

"I'll have it setup right away. Within thirty minutes Edward will be hooked up and hopefully on the road to recovery." Dr. Lin said, as he made his way out of the room.

Ed had once again stopped throwing up and he was so exhausted he didn't even argue or fight against Roy as he placed him against his chest. Roy dabbed the cloth against Ed's forehead to try and help soothe his stomach. Ed was shaking so horribly it was hard to hold onto him. Ed leaned his head against Roy's chest and closed his eyes to try and get his stomach to finally settle down. He had had the flu before, but this was so much worse. Ed just wished he could sleep this away and wake up feeling back to normal. He wanted all of this to be some horrible nightmare. As much as he was thrilled to have Al back to normal, he wished he had never gone through the hell of the past three weeks. Part of him wished he had never gone into that lab and Ed felt horrible for even thinking it for a second. There was a knock at the door and Roy knew who it was.

"Come in Hawkeye." Roy said.

Hawkeye opened the door enough so that she could get in before she closed it behind her. She couldn't help the pang in her heart at the site of Ed sitting on the floor still curled up against Roy's chest. He looked even worse than he had an hour ago.

"The Rockbells and Al are here as well as the team."

"Ed?" Roy asked gently.

"I can't. Not yet. Not feeling like this." Ed answered the unspoken question with a voice barely above a whisper. Anything else hurt too much.

"Have the team wait outside of the room. I'll speak to them once Dr. Lin returns to get Ed hooked up to the detox machine. Let Al and the Rockbells know that Ed's too sick for visitors right now."

"Yes Sir." Hawkeye said, as she turned to leave to tell everyone to get out of the room basically.

"You know they won't care if you are sick Ed. They just want to be there for you." Roy said gently.

"I know. It just hurts too much right now. I just want to be alone."

"And that's your right to want some space. But I'm not leaving you Ed. You've been alone to suffer enough in these past three weeks. I'm not letting you go through this alone too. You're stuck with me."

"I'm too tired to argue with you." Ed said and Roy knew that was his way of giving in without showing a sign of needing someone. Ed was too used to being on his own and taking care of himself. He didn't know how to let someone else do it or how to accept it. Roy was taking whatever he could from Ed until he got used to it.

"I know it's hard, but by this time tomorrow you will be feeling seventy percent better again. You're strong Ed you can do this." Roy said hoping it sounded encouraging.

"Just not strong enough." Ed said softly with pain radiating throughout his voice.

"Don't do that. Don't put what happened onto yourself. You fought with everything you had. I saw the camera footage of the Lab. I saw you fight that soldier in the armour. You beat them, even when you were seriously injured you won. You had the strength to not kill those prisoners to make a stone, even though you knew there was a risk of them killing your brother. You're a lot stronger than you give yourself credit for Ed. Any other Alchemist that had that much unfinished Philosopher's Stone dropped onto them would have died. You survived. There was nothing you could have done to prevent getting captured. Nothing."

"I could have not gone in. I could have let Armstrong investigate the Lab in the morning. I could have waited for backup. But we finally had a real lead and we knew it was dangerous. We didn't want anyone else to get hurt. I wish I had never gone in, but then Al would still be trapped in that armour. Does that make me a bad brother?" Ed asked with tears burning his eyes.

"No Ed, no it doesn't. It makes you human and if Al knew what you went through he would be wishing the same thing. He wouldn't have ever wanted you to be hurt like this just for him. You made the choice that you thought was the right one to make. You knew it was dangerous, but you also knew that someone else could have been hurt and you would have felt guilty for the rest of your life over it. I would have made the same call Ed. You get to regret it. You get to wish you had done something different. You don't get to blame yourself though, because it's not your fault. As hard as it is for you to accept, you're still a kid Ed. You are going to make mistakes Mistakes that you will learn from. It's an adult's job to make sure you are safe while making them. We let you down this time around."

"No one knew we were going to go in. We said we wouldn't."

"And Armstrong should have known you both well enough by now to know you didn't mean it. Scar was also still out there. You should have had round the clock protection regardless. It's not important right now. We will all learn from our mistakes and make sure that next time we don't make the same ones. But don't ever feel bad for wishing you hadn't gone in Ed. you have every right to wish you hadn't gone through any of this."

"But what happens now?" Ed asked and Roy knew he wasn't talking about medically.

"That is something we can figure out when you are healthier. You don't need the answers today."

Ed just gave a small nod and Roy knew his mind wouldn't just let it rest for now. Ed's mind would be constantly going over what he knew and what needed to be done. Ed was not used to not being able to be active and have his mind working through problems. Once he was feeling better from the withdrawals Roy knew he would need to be doing something to keep Ed busy enough so he would be resting in bed and not sneaking out somewhere. It was another ten minutes before there was a knock at the door and Dr. Lin was there. Roy picked up Ed bridal style and carried him over to the bed and placed him down. He saw that everyone was out of the room except for Winry. She was standing on the right side of the bed with her arms crossed and ready for a fight. Ed didn't speak until Roy placed him down on the bed.

"I told you to leave." Ed said with as much attitude that he could manage in his voice.

"And you're an idiot. Did you really think I would just leave you here on your own to suffer through this? I mean really Ed that head injury must be worse than we all thought if you are that stupid." Winry argued back.

Dr. Lin continued to hook Ed up as he and Roy stayed quiet.

"Stupid? It's not stupid to want some privacy for a little while. Besides, shouldn't you be building me a new arm or leg?"

"I'll have them ready for when the doctor says we can attach them. And that's not the point. You don't want privacy, you just don't want anyone to see you sick and weak. But you're only weak in your head for thinking that any of this changes what anyone thinks of you. We only care. You're not getting rid of me. Remember I am the one that nursed your ass back to health when you got both of your limbs taken off. Blood was everywhere and I helped to keep you alive and got you back to perfect health. This is nothing for us. So stop being an idiot. I'm not leaving. Get over it." Winry said with a softer voice.

"How's Al?"

"He's worried, but he's hanging in there. You know Al. He just wants you back to being healthy again. I think he's also really confused with everything. Four years doesn't seem like much, but it is when you have zero memories of them. He'll be okay, you know how strong he is."

"Ya." Ed said and it was clear that he was worried about his brother.

"You are all hooked up. This machine will slowly pump your blood out, clean it of any toxins and then pump it back into you. You are also hooked up to an IV to help with your dehydration. The best thing you can do right now is try and sleep as much as you can to get you through. I've taken some blood and once I have the results back I should be able to give you a rough estimate of how long it will take for you. Do you have any questions?" Dr. Lin asked.

Ed just shook his head slightly and when Roy didn't ask anything he headed out of the room.

"I'm going to speak to the team and see what they have discovered. I'll be right outside." Roy said.

"You can leave. I'll be okay." Ed said trying once again to get Roy to go.

"Not a chance Fullmetal." Roy said with a smirk before he turned and headed out.

"He's been really worried about you. From what Mr. Hughes has been saying, he barely slept the whole time you were gone. He spent his days and nights searching all over the city and in buildings for you. Mr. Hughes said he was more than prepared to throw his career away just to find you." Winry said once the door was closed.

"Probably just didn't want the bad press about it." Ed said dismissively.

"You know that's not true. He cares about you. Why is that so hard for you to accept Ed?" Winry asked calmly, as she went and grabbed a clean cloth to get wet.

"You know I'm not good with adults."

"Adults don't bother you. You're not good with adults that care about you and you care about in return." Winry said, as she sat down on the right side of the bed with the cold cloth and placed it against Ed's forehead.

"I don't care about him." Ed said automatically.

"Yes you do. There's nothing wrong with it." Winry said with a warm smile.

"He's my boss. He's just doing what he thinks will relieve his guilt."

"No he isn't and you know it. Would it really be so bad if you admitted to caring about him?"

"Yes." Ed softly admitted.

"Why?" Winry asked gently.

"Because one day he'll leave or he'll die and I'll be left alone all over again." Ed admitted sadly.

"Everyone dies at some point in their life Ed. You can't stop that from happening. But I don't think he's the leaving type. You are more than just some subordinate to him. I think he'd be good for you. You should let him in. After what he's been through and done for you in the past three weeks, he's earned that much from you. The chance for you to get to know each other. Just think about it."

"Hm." Ed simply said and Winry let him have a few moments of quiet to try and get his thoughts together. She knew he needed rest and he would just need some time to get used to everything again.

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Roy headed out of the room to see that his team and Hughes was there waiting for him. He didn't see Al or Pinako though.

"They went to get something to eat. Pinako thought Al could use the break, especially after finding out that Ed didn't want to see anyone." Hawkeye answered, as she could see the confusion on his face.

"Ed's having a hard time with what happened. He's extremely sick and he doesn't want anyone to see him like this, especially Al. Though Winry seems to have broken through." Roy said.

"She's stubborn. She's good for him." Hawkeye said with a smirk.

"She seems to be." Roy agreed.

"The Chief needs rapid detox then?" Havoc asked.

"He's hooked up now. Dr. Lin is going to try and give us an estimate of how long it will take. At most it'll take a day before his body is almost cleared from the drugs. Hopefully he starts to feel better soon. That all of his energy will work in his favor and burn through the drugs faster. He's going to be sick though until his blood has been cleared out."

"He's in bad shape right now. With any luck he might be able to sleep most of it away." Hawkeye said.

"What do we have so far?" Roy asked.

"We've been going through the video footage. So far we haven't been able to get anyone on tape. From what we can tell it's been abandoned for at least six months. It's most likely longer than that. If someone has been going through there, they've been able to do it off camera somehow." Hughes answered.

"Who was originally running it?" Roy asked not happy about the camera outcome.

"Brigadier General Basque Grand. And so far we haven't been able to track down any of the scientists that have been working in the Lab before it was registered as deactivated." Hughes answered not the least bit happy either.

"They're probably dead." Havoc said.

"Is it possible that the General knew what was happening within it?" Breda asked.

"We might never get that answer. Lab 5 was shut down because it was classified as having poor production. There's nothing in any official file to state otherwise." Hughes answered.

"The small amount of paperwork that we did find in the lab was only about meaningless experiments that according to Armstrong was barely even worth doing. All were theories that had already been long proven. He said it was more like school science experiments that could have been done by an eight year old." Hawkeye said.

"They shut it down and left it guarded by those two empty suits of armour. They got rid of all evidence except for the array and the red liquid." Havoc added.

"But why have it at all? If they killed the scientists, which I think we can all agree it looks like they did. Why not destroy the guardians and move the red liquid? All of that red liquid was an incomplete stone, but it was still powerful enough to perform human transmutation. Why leave that behind?" Hughes asked.

"And how did Shou Tucker get involved?" Fuery added.

"We were able to see Tucker on the camera of him moving around the lab and working in his own lab. He was alone the whole time though." Falman said.

"Based on what we saw he was still working on Chimeras and trying to bring his daughter back to life. It's possible that whoever these homunculi are or whose in charge of them, approached Tucker and offered him the chance to use the stone to bring his daughter back." Hawkeye said.

"Most likely and it would have been an empty promise. They wanted a complete stone, it's why they risked leaving everything there. If the General had something to do with this to begin with it's too late to ask him anything about it. And if the military knew before they shut it down we will never find out. It'll have been swept so far under the rug it won't exist." Roy said.

"That leaves Ed and what he might have discovered when talking to the suit of armour or from the homunculi." Hughes said.

"He's in no shape to talk right now. Not for at least two days. What about the prison?" Roy asked.

"I spoke to the Warden. The only prisoners that went missing were the ones schedules for execution. General Grand was the only one to ever take the prisoners for execution. As far as he knew, nothing questionable was happening. What we don't know is if it was the real General or Envy disguised as the General. Right now either option is looking viable." Hughes answered.

"Did you find anything about these homunculi?" Havoc asked.

"It wasn't as simple as I had hoped. When the library was destroyed they lost most of the books. It's taking time for them to be all recreated by Sheska. Some were also copies and the real ones were kept in the vault at Headquarters that are going to be moved and placed in a conference room when we're ready. I looked through the books that weren't damaged by the fire, but so far there was nothing there. It's going to take Sheska at least two weeks to recreate the books. She is going to be focusing on any that mentioned artificial humans, the stone, homunculi or human transmutation." Roy answered.

"She won't get much on them probably. I'd imagine those goodies will be kept to the books under a bigger lock and key. You're going to need the Fuhrer's access to those books." Hughes said.

"I figured, but I want to wait until Ed is in better shape for that. He's got the best chance of breaking the codes and understanding it." Roy said back.

"Will they all be in code?" Fuery asked.

"Most Alchemist write in code to protect their research. Especially research about the biggest taboo in the world." Hughes answered.

"It'll take Ed time to crack it though. This won't be a fast process, no matter how much we all wish it was." Hawkeye said.

"Keeping them safe is the priority right now. I'll keep working the research with what I have so far. The rest of you get to the bottom of Lab 5 and check in on the other labs. I want to make sure their research didn't spread out to a new lab since being shut down. I want random checks being done with full inspections." Roy ordered.

"We're on it." Havoc said.

"I'll be with Ed for the rest of the day. Let me know if you find anything." Roy said.

"Does he need anything?" Breda asked with concern.

"Just time for now. Once he's through the withdrawals he should start to feel more up to visitors." Roy answered.

"He won't stay down for long though. Once he starts to feel better he's going to want to get out of here." Havoc said knowing that Ed and hospitals just don't mix.

"I know. I'll need to think of something to keep him here for the two weeks. His body needs the rest and chance to recover fully before he gets back out there. I don't know what he's going to do yet, I don't think he does either. It's a problem for another day. Right now I need to focus on getting him through the next twenty-four hours." Roy said.

"We'll get out of your hair and check back in later on tonight. Let us know if you need anything." Hughes said.

Roy gave a nod and they all started to go their separate ways. Hawkeye stayed back to make sure that Roy would be okay with Ed and Winry on his own.

"I can stay." Hawkeye offered.

"I know, but Ed does not want anyone around. It was a fight to get him to agree to my staying. I'll be fine. Right now all I can really do is wait with Ed and hope he doesn't have any heart problems."

"He's young and strong. He'll make it through." Hawkeye said offering what comfort that she could without touching him.

Roy gave a nod and Hawkeye placed her hand on his left arm and gave it a small squeeze before she let it go.

"I'll go see what I can find in the other labs. I'll check in tonight and let you know if we find anything."

"Be safe. We don't know who we can trust right now."

"Always. You focus on Ed and try to eat something today."

Roy gave a nod and Hawkeye took her leave as well. Roy took a deep breath in before he walked into the room. He knew this was going to be a long day. He was just hoping that Ed would be able to sleep through some of it to give him a break from the pain. Roy saw that Ed was trembling fairly badly and Winry was sitting on the right side of the bed with a cold cloth against Ed's forehead. The worry was clear on her face just as the pain on Ed's was. Ed opened his eyes at the sound of the door, but when he saw that it was Roy he closed them again. Roy figured he was trying to will sleep to come. Roy went and sat down in a chair on the left side of the bed. He wanted to be close enough to help Ed, but he didn't want Ed feeling trapped in either. Roy stayed quiet and allowed Ed this time to just rest and try to get himself to feel better. Roy also didn't have anything to say to Ed that would help at all either. All they could do was hope that Ed would make it through the next day without any heart problems.

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It wasn't until nine at night when there was a knock on the hospital room door. Roy got up knowing that it would most likely be Hawkeye reporting back. The day had gone by as well as Roy had thought it would. Ed had spent most of it throwing up for hours straight before he would get thirty minutes in between his throwing up spells. Those thirty minutes were spent with Ed's eyes scrunched up closed from the pain radiating throughout his body. Ed's voice had gotten so bad, that he couldn't even talk from the pain and from his voice just not having the strength to be there. The past twelve hours had been agony for Ed and it was starting to show. His heart monitor had gone off a few times and Dr. Lin had been concerned that Ed's heart wouldn't be able to handle the withdrawals for much longer. Thankfully Ed had been able to pull through each time and he was half way through the rapid detox. Dr. Lin unfortunately only had bad news for them regarding Ed's blood tests. He would need a full twenty-four hours hooked up to the machine before his system would be cleansed enough for Ed to handle the rest on his own. It was promising to be a long night.

Roy walked out of the room and saw that he was right, Hawkeye was the only one standing on the other side. Hawkeye could see how exhausted and stressed Roy was looking. He had gone three weeks barely sleeping or eating and the one night of rest in his bed was not enough to counter it out. Hawkeye knew he needed sleep, but she also knew that he wouldn't be leaving Ed alone tonight no matter what anyone said.

"How is he?" Hawkeye asked with concern.

"Really sick. His heart has had a few problems from the stress, but he's been able to pull through so far. Dr. Lin said he has to do a full twenty-four hours on the machine though. He's sick constantly. He's in an extreme amount of pain and he can't even talk from his voice hurting too much. It's going to be a long twelve hours." Roy said with a sigh.

"I'm sorry. I was hoping that Ed's body would burn through it faster. Will he still be sick at the end of the twelve hours?"

"No. Dr. Lin said he would just be exhausted and probably sleep the next day away. He's supposed to slow down on the throwing up though on this side of things. With any luck Ed will be able to fall asleep within a few hours and stay that way. What were you able to find out?"

"We have nothing. We checked the other labs and they were clean. We didn't find anything that was out of place at any of them. All of the workers checked out and none have gone missing within the past three years. Hughes, Fuery and Falman was able to get through more of the security footage. It goes back nine months and then nothing. The tapes have all been erased."

"Whatever happened there stopped nine months ago. Dammit." Roy said frustrated that they weren't any closer to getting answers.

"Hughes is trying to find anything about General Grand, but he has to be careful with it. He also has Armstrong looking into the other labs within the other major cities to see if there is something happening with them."

"Good. They need to be careful. We don't know who we can trust. Ed started this, but he would feel terrible if one of us got hurt because of his search for the stone."

"I know. But it's too late to turn back now. We have to finish this even if Edward doesn't continue himself."

"Agreed. Something is going on within the military and none of us are about to turn a blind eye to it now. Within the next couple of days we should be able to speak to Ed about it better and get some answers hopefully. He probably knows more than he's been able to say."

"Probably. There's no telling what his mind has soaked up from his time being captive. A couple of days to rest his voice and he should be in better shape to speak. Pinako has been working on Edward's limbs. They want to change his plates as well. She's hoping they can do it in a couple of days as well while he is still getting pain medication."

"He should be ready once he is no longer going through the withdrawals. He'll feel better once he can move around normally again. I'll probably only get a week out of him before he starts to go crazy with boredom."

"Assuming he sleeps the rest of the week away. Sheska is working on the books, but she's going to take time. Until they are done we're going to get a quiet period."

"I know. We do what we can for now and then pick it back up once we get those books."

"You're exhausted." Hawkeye said gently.

"I'm not leaving him Riza. I can sleep once he is."

"Just make sure you are taking care of yourself. You won't be any use to us if you're sick too."

"I know. I'll be fine once he is in the clear."

"I'll head out then and let you get back in there. Hopefully Ed is able to sleep shortly and start to feel better. Call if you need anything."

"I will." Roy promised.

Hawkeye gave Roy a small smile before she turned and left. She wanted to give him a kiss, but with them being in public and being in uniform it wouldn't be the smartest idea just yet. Roy watched as Hawkeye headed out of the hospital before he went back into the room to try and get through the next twelve hours with Ed.

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Hughes walked into his home just after nine thirty that night. It had been a long day trying to track down any piece of information that could be helpful, only to strike out each time. They needed more information, but they couldn't get that until Sheska was done with the books and Ed was in better shape to talk about what he heard and saw. At this current moment they were at a stand still and Hughes hated being at a stand still. Hughes saw that Gracia was still awake, but she was alone in the room. Hughes went over and placed a kiss to her cheek before he started to remove his uniform jacket.

"How are the kids?" Hughes asked.

"Our little darling is sleeping peacefully in her bed. Al is in the guest room. I'm worried about him. He's barely spoken in the past two days."

"Were you able to get him to eat something today?" Hughes asked concerned as Al hadn't been handling everything so well.

"No. He's been in the room since he's gotten back from the hospital. What happened?" Gracia asked concerned.

Hughes let out a sigh as he went and sat down on the couch next to his wife.

"Ed's going through rapid detox for his withdrawals. He was too sick and it was putting stress on his heart to be going through them naturally. Dr. Lin said it would be better for him to go through the rapid detox and put his body through the stress for a day over ten days of natural withdrawals. Hawkeye checked in not too long ago. Ed was still fairly sick and it is going to be a long night for them. Hopefully tomorrow Ed will feel better and he can sleep the next part of the withdrawals away."

"The poor boy. He's been through so much, he didn't need this to go with it. I'm assuming he didn't want Al around for it."

"He didn't want anyone around. He wanted all of us to leave him alone. Roy and Winry refused to. I know Al wasn't happy with not being able to see Ed. With Ed denying him the chance to see him. I don't blame him though. He's so sick right now. I wouldn't want to be surrounded by people either."

"It's hard on Al though. He's coming back into this world with four years gone from memory and he's now five years younger than his brother. That's a huge difference at their age. Everything is so different for him. The only constant that he had in his life is Ed and now Ed is injured and doesn't want Al around for it. I don't think Al knows where his place is in Ed's life currently. They were attached at the hip basically their whole lives and now so much has changed for him."

"I know it's not easy on him. Unfortunately, I don't think it's gonna get any easier. Roy is determined to have Ed stay with him until he is healthy and these enemies are brought down. He'll be able to convince Ed to stay and knowing Ed he'll get Al to go back home to keep him safe. Both of their lives are about to change and they are going to need time to adjust to it."

"I think Al is having feelings of being left behind. He's ten now and not fourteen. He was always right behind Ed and now Ed is five years ahead of him. Al needs to see that his life can still go on and he can be who he wants to be now. He's only ten years old. My god he has a whole life ahead of him."

"He does. I'll speak to him and see if I can get him to see to good side of the situation. He gets to have a life again, it's a good thing."

"I think he is just having a hard time seeing the benefits right now. So much is still up in the air for those boys."

"It's a lot to take at a young age. I'll go speak with him and try to get him to feel better about this situation. Unfortunately, it's just going to take time." Hughes said, as he stood up from the couch slightly slowly as his body was exhausted from the past three weeks.

"You also need some food and rest Sweetheart. I'll warm up some food for you while you go and talk to Al." Gracia said, as she stood up.

Hughes gave a nod and made his way towards the bedrooms so he could speak with Al and hopefully get him feeling better. Hughes knocked on the door before he opened it slightly to make sure that Al hadn't fallen asleep. Hughes saw that Al was sitting in the chair by the window looking outside at the night sky. Hughes walked in as he closed the door part way behind him as he spoke.

"Hey Al, can we talk for a minute?"

"Of course Mr. Hughes." Al answered politely as always.

Hughes walked over and leaned against the windowsill as he spoke. "I wanted to let you know that Ed has been doing alright with the rapid detox. He hasn't had any heart problems with it that are concerning Dr. Lin. He is expected to be off the machine in twelve hours and then he'll probably sleep the next day or two away."

"But he'll be okay afterwards right?" Al asked with concern for his brother.

"He won't be going through withdrawals. He's still pretty badly injured and will still have pneumonia. It's going to be about a month before he's back to fully healthy again physically. Each day though, he'll get better and better. How are you doing with everything? I know a lot has gotten dropped on you in the past three weeks."

"Everything is different. We used to do everything together. We were all we had along with Winry and Granny. Now he doesn't want me around." Al said sadly.

"That's not true Al. He wants you around. Today he just didn't want anyone around. He kicked all of us out the only reason Winry and Roy stayed was because they gave him no choice. You have to remember Ed went through a lot. He's trying to deal with everything that happened to him during those three weeks. It's going to take time for Ed to be back to his old self. Your relationship with each other is going to be different now that you both have an age gap. But that doesn't mean it will be a bad thing Al. You'll always be close no matter how old either of you are."

"But what am I supposed to do now? I go back home and Ed stays here in the military, where he'll be in danger and hurt all over again. We're supposed to be together and now it's like he has this new life and I don't fit in it."

"No Al you do fit in it. I know your world is different, but you do fit in Ed's world still. He's just sick and injured and you're not able to talk about all the things you both need to talk about. But you will shortly. In a few days Ed should be in better shape and you both can talk about everything that is bothering you or worrying you. I know it's hard, but you just need to be a little bit patient."

"I will. I just wish he wasn't so injured."

"We all do. In the meantime, maybe think about some things you want to do now that you are back in your body. You got your whole life ahead of you Al. Don't forget that." Hughes said trying to sound positive and encouraging.

Al gave Hughes a small smile and Hughes new it was as good as he was going to get tonight. Hughes stood as he spoke and placed a hand on Al's left shoulder.

"I'll leave you alone to get some rest. Tomorrow Ed should be in better shape and you can go and see him in the morning. Goodnight Al."

"Goodnight Mr. Hughes."

Hughes gave Al a warm smile before he turned and headed out of the room. Hughes knew that both Elric brothers had a long road ahead of them. He was just hoping that they would make it.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Roy and Havoc were on their way back towards Ed's hospital room. It had been a week since he had been rescued and so far the week hadn't gone over too well. Not only were they at a standstill with his case, but Ed's mood was slowly getting worse. He wasn't really eating, he barely spoke and he wasn't really sleeping all that well between the nightmares and the nurses constantly waking him up to check on him every hour. Ed had been good about it, but they could all tell his patience was wearing thin, not that anyone could blame him. They only positive for the week was Ed had finally gotten his automail reattached three days ago and was able to move to the bathroom on his own. Roy had been at the office just getting a few more files when he saw Havoc outside the hospital having a smoke.

"How is he doing?" Roy asked as they walked down the hallways.

"Not too great. The doc is in there with him now. He had to do an exam of his injuries. And turns out that the Chief not only has pneumonia, but he's coughing up blood from a bad case of bronchitis. The doc said he'll need to have a new prescription to clear it up and an inhaler to help his lungs heal. He's talking about not letting Ed go for another two weeks. Especially if he doesn't start to eat and sleep better."

"That's bullshit. How can he sleep when they are waking him up every hour. And he's not hungry because he's exhausted. Another two weeks in this place will only make him worse." Roy was not impressed at all. It had been a miracle so far that he had been able to keep Ed here, there was no way he would stay for another two weeks.

"We might need to consider planning a jailbreak in a week. I've also heard some whispers going around Central from people who don't know I've overheard."

"What about?"

"For the most part everyone is really worried about the Chief and want to help catch these bastards, but there have been some that think he deserved what he got. Said he was only half a boy and not worth their time to help." Havoc said with an edge to his voice.

"They actually said half a boy?" Roy asked disgusted by some people.

"Yup. I snuck a peek, they were all under Lieutenant Colonel Frank Archer."

"Of course. He's pissed because Ed wouldn't transfer under his command three years ago. I will deal with him and his men. If you hear anything else let me know."

"Get out! Just leave me alone!"

Both Roy and Havoc took off running down the rest of the hallway at the sound of Ed's screams. Roy was through the door first and took in the scene. Ed was sitting up in bed and breathing hard. The IV had been ripped from his left arm and there was a good trail of blood going down his forearm from it. Dr. Yin was standing there with his gloved hands up slightly to show that he wasn't a threat to Ed. Both Havoc and Roy could tell that Ed was beyond upset.

"What is going on?" Roy demanded at the doctor as he moved closer to Ed in case he needed to protect him.

"I need to do a pelvic exam. After the repeated assault, especially one as brutal as Edward has endured, I need to exam him and make sure he is healing. I was hoping to be able to do it without sedating him, but that's not an option now. I'll sedate him and after the exam I'll have a nurse put the I.V back in."

"No, no more drugs, no more touching. Just leave me alone!" Ed was trembling now and his breathing was coming out harsher, it was clear Ed was starting to panic.

"You are not sedating him. As for the exam I did not give you permission to run one. Until he is eighteen, Edward is under my medical responsibility. You have to get permission from me before you can exam him and you don't have it. I am not going to allow anyone to put him through an exam, sedated or not, that will only make his trauma worse." Roy was furious at this point. He couldn't believe Dr. Yin would be so stupid to think this would be okay.

"As I have said he needs to be checked out. He needs the I.V in because he's not getting enough nutrients into his body. If he keeps refusing to eat we can't take it out. I am sympathetic to what he has been through, but my priority is his health and if he continues to neglect it I will have no choice but to take drastic measures. Such as a feeding tube or having him sedated the whole time to allow his body the rest it needs."

"Rest, you want to talk about rest? How the hell can he rest when someone is waking him up every single hour all day and night long to poke and prod at him? And you're shocked that he's not sleeping or eating from it? You people are making it worse for him." Havoc argued back.

"Havoc, get him out of here. I need a moment with Ed."

Havoc was all too happy to force the doctor out of the room. Roy took a slow breath in to try and calm himself down before he turned around and put his focus on Ed. Ed was shaking and he was just moments away from hyperventilating. Roy went and grabbed a cloth that was on the side table and placed it against the bleeding on Ed's elbow.

"Ed, I need you to slow your breathing down for me. I know you are upset, but you need to slow it down." Roy said calmly.

"I'm done. I can't do this anymore. I can't be here anymore. I can stay at the dorms. I'll stay in bed I won't do any alchemy or go anywhere. I'll just stay in bed. I'll be good I promise." Ed said with a panicked and broken voice.

Roy moved his hands and placed them gently against either side of Ed's face to try and catch his attention.

"It's ok Ed. I'm not going to let anyone give you drugs or an exam. I know this isn't working. I promise you I am going to figure something out, but I need you to slow your breathing down for me."

Ed closed his eyes and tried to take a few slow calming breaths. He was just so tired and just done with it all. He didn't want to be here anymore. He wanted to be on his own where he could just sleep and relax without having to deal with someone all day and night long. After a few minutes Ed's breathing had slowed down and Roy moved his hands back as Ed opened his eyes.

"Sorry." Ed immediately said.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. You've been through a lot Ed and you have barely slept in a month. I wouldn't have lasted this long."

"I don't want to be touched anymore. Nurses and doctors coming in every single hour touching me. I know it's not the same, but I can't be touched by strangers anymore."

"And that's ok. I'm not going to let anyone do anything to you that you are not ready for. We need to talk about what will happen when you leave here. I would like for you to come and stay with me. I have a spare bedroom with a bathroom attached so you can be in the room and not have to see anyone if you don't want to. With the homunculi still out there I would be the best person to protect you from them. I can also have soldiers around the outside of my home for added protection."

"But Al, I need to go back with him to Resembool. I need to find a job there and a place for us. I have to take care of him he's only ten now." Ed said and Roy could hear the stress in his voice.

"If you didn't have to worry about Al, just for a moment don't think about him. What do you want to do Ed? Don't even think about it just say how you feel."

"I just want to hide until it doesn't hurt anymore." Ed said with tears building in his eyes.

"Then that is exactly what you need to do." Roy said gently.

"I can't, Al."

"Al will understand. Ed, you need to focus on yourself for once. I will worry about Al and getting him situated. You need to just be a fifteen year old and let me be the adult. If everything in you is screaming at you to just hide away somewhere then that is what you need to do. You can't do it forever, but you sure as hell can do it for a little while and heal. I will worry about Al, you worry about you."

"It feels like I'm letting him down though."

"You aren't. He already knows there is a good chance you won't be going back to Resembool with him. It's ok for you not to go. Do you really want to be there? Even taking Al out of the equation, is being back in Resembool what you truly want?"

"I should be there, but I don't really want to. I gave that up a long time ago and I'm glad I did. It's too small. But I should be there for them."

"And you can be there for them, but you can continue to do that from here. You don't have to throw your life away for anyone, you shouldn't. Do you want to come stay with me?"

Ed thought about it for a moment, but the thought of being able to just hide away from everyone was too tempting. Roy could keep him safe. Roy could handle the homunculi if they showed up. Al could be safe back in Resembool and then Ed could figure out a way to support him and get him setup in school. It could be worked out. Ed couldn't get past the feeling of needing to hide right now. He just wanted to curl up in a bed all alone and be able to sleep as much as he wanted. Ed gave a nod to answer Roy and Roy gave him a small warm smile.

"Ok. I'm going to go and speak with Dr. Yin and get you out of here. I'll see what we need to do. I was not going to originally allow you to leave until you were cleared, but this isn't helping you to heal, it's making you worse. I'll get you out of here so you can be home tonight. Without that I.V in though, I really need you to drink some of that disgusting orange drink to help with your nutrients and sugar levels. I know it doesn't taste good, but once we get to the house you can start eating and drinking properly to help you recover."

"Ok, I'll try."

"I'll be right back. Do you want to be alone or do you want Havoc to come in and sit with you?"

"I just want to be alone."

"And there's nothing wrong with that. I'll leave Havoc at the door so no one can come in and bother you. He will also be able to hear you if you need help. I'll be back shortly."

Ed gave a nod and he went and laid back down on his left side. Roy made his way out of the room and closed the door behind him. He was shocked to see that his team had arrived along with Hughes. Dr. Yin was also among the group and he did not look happy at all.

"Prepare any paperwork that needs to be done, I am taking him home by tonight." Roy demanded of the doctor.

"You can't. He's not well enough to be out of the hospital. You would be putting his health at risk." Dr. Yin argued, outraged that Roy would ever demand something like this of him.

"I trusted you with his health. You said you could help him, that you would take good care of him and all you have done is make him worse. You threatened him with a feeding tube. You were about to sedate him to perform an exam on him, all of which you did not discuss with me nor did you have my permission for. All Edward needs is rest and food to recover he will get that at home. Being here is only making the trauma he has endured worse and I will not allow it to continue. Get the paperwork ready for when I return or I will place you in custody. And that goes for any of your staff that even so much as thinks about walking into that room again. Do as you are instructed or I will have you serving as the new jailhouse doctor by nightfall." Roy ordered and those of them that knew Roy could tell he was seconds away from killing this man. Roy had been more stressed than anyone regarding Ed and after the past month he was at his limit and done.

"You are making a terrible mistake. He should be transported to the mental health ward where he can get proper care. You can't ignore what happened to him and allowing him to act this way is only going to make things worse." Dr. Yin tried one final time.

"He is not a mental patient. He is a fifteen year old boy that spent twenty-two days in hell being tortured, killed and brought back to life. He has spent a week being woken up every hour all day and night long to be touched by strangers. He spent two days sicker than a dog and in pain. He is done and I don't blame him for a second. Leaving him here would be failing him and I've already horribly failed to protect him. I won't fail him again. Get the paperwork, you have three hours before I take him out of here paperwork or not."

"You have no idea what you are going to be in for." Dr. Yin warned before he walked off, not impressed at all for being ignored and overruled.

"Roy, are you sure this is a good idea?" Hughes asked calmly.

"You didn't see him Hughes. All he wants is to be left alone. To be able to sleep without strangers constantly touching him. He's not getting any better being here because he can't rest properly like his body needs him too. He's done and I don't blame him. I would have been done a long time ago. The very least I can do is get him in a place where he can feel safe and heal."

"What do we need to do then?" Hughes said more than willing to help.

"I need to get some soldiers to my place and have them set up a perimeter to help keep Ed safe just in case. I also need Ed's suitcase that should be at the dorm. I will go to my home and make sure I have enough food and medical supplies."

"I'll go to Central Command and get the protection in order." Hughes said.

"I'll grab Ed's things from the dorm and bring them to your place Sir." Hawkeye said.

"I'll stay here and make sure the Chief is ok." Havoc said.

"He wants to be left alone. Don't let anyone in, not even a nurse or doctor. He needs some time."

"I'll make sure he gets it."

"What about the investigation? Are the books ready?" Roy asked Hughes.

"Almost, it's taking her some time to get them all together. We haven't made any progress yet on our end. Everyone we've discovered about Lab 5 has disappeared, probably safe to assume they were part of the red liquid. Paperwork right now is coming back with nothing. I thought maybe having Al going through the lab and seeing if there was something that stood out to him. New eyes and such, but I'm not real comfortable with sending a ten year old into that place." Hughes answered.

"Al is also not a prodigy like Ed. He's smart but he won't notice what someone like Ed would." Breda added.

"I'm not sure how comfortable I am with sending Ed in there even after he is well enough. Talk to Al about it and see what he says. It might be worth a shot. I have submitted the paperwork for the highly classified books to be released, but even with the push of the Fuhrer it is taking some time to be processed and approved. Hopefully within the next week we will have all the resources we can get and start researching. Ed might be up for it by then." Roy said.

"I'll talk to Al about going through, he might see something and I'm sure at this point he will be happy to help." Hughes said.

"Good, everyone else keep working what angels we have left. There has to be something to lead us in any direction. Nothing is ever perfect, somewhere someone left something behind we need to find it." Roy was not impressed with how slow this whole case seemed to be going.

They all gave a nod and went about what their tasks were. They needed to get this sorted out before the homunculi came after Ed again, because one thing was certain, they weren't done with their youngest team member yet.

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It was just after five o'clock when Roy finally got Ed's discharge papers along with a long lecture about how to care for Ed's wounds. His back was still wrapped in bandages from the lashes, his arm was still bandaged from the burn that he had to have rewrapped twice a day and a cream applied to it. There was also two types of antibiotics that Ed would need to take as well as an inhaler three times a day to cure his lungs. Other than that Ed just needed rest and food to heal his body. It was all simple enough for Roy to handle. Dr. Yin also pointed out the numerous side effects Ed could have from the skull fracture still, none of which sounded fun, but they would be bearable for a little while until it healed within two months.

Roy walked into Ed's hospital room to find him restlessly sleeping, an occurrence with Ed since he had been in the hospital. It was like Ed's mind knew that someone would be coming in and it couldn't rest. That was proven when Ed's eyes opened when he heard the door close. Roy gave him a warm smile as he went over to the bed and sat down.

"I have your discharge papers. We can officially break you out of here. Do you think you're ok to get to the car?"

"I'll do anything to get out of here." Ed said as he slowly sat up.

His whole body was stiff and sore from laying in this bed. It was not comfortable, especially for someone with two automail limbs. Add on his injuries and broken ribs, it was hard just sitting up.

"Havoc is pulling the car up front and I have a wheelchair for you to get you to the door. Hawkeye went and got your things from the dorm and brought them home. I have some food there and a few things that you can eat like popsicles to help when you are not feeling very hungry, but you need something in you. We just need to get you home and then you can sleep the week away if you want. I will only need to wake you every six hours for your medication and then you can go right back to sleep. Sound good?"

"Hell ya."

"Let's get you in the chair. I brought a blanket to wrap you up in to help keep you warm."

Roy moved the thin hospital blanket off from Ed and helped Ed to move from the bed down to the wheelchair. Roy could tell that the more days that had gone by the more pain Ed seemed to be in. Roy knew from experience how uncomfortable hospital beds were, he couldn't imagine how terrible they would be for someone like Ed. With Ed in the wheelchair Roy wrapped the blanket he brought from home around Ed's shoulders. Roy then proceeded to push the wheelchair out of the room and towards the front door. This had been the most Ed had been sitting in the past week and Roy knew this move would take a great deal out of Ed, but he also knew it would be worth it. Once they arrived at the front Roy was pleased to see that Havoc had already pulled the truck up and had opened the back door. Roy pushed Ed right up to the truck and Havoc helped to get Ed up and into the truck. Once Ed was sitting again Havoc put the blanket around Ed, who was already leaning his head back against the seat breathing heavy.

"Hard part is almost done Chief. I'll drive real careful so you don't move around." Havoc said as he went and clicked in the seatbelt for Ed.

Both Havoc and Roy got into the truck and made their way towards Roy's home, a good twenty minute drive. Havoc made sure he didn't hit any bumps and kept his speed even so it wouldn't move Ed around too much. Ed had his head back with his eyes closed the whole time and neither adult spoke. They both knew that Ed was in no shape or mood to start having a conversation and that was fine with them. They only wanted to get Ed settled into bed where he could hopefully get some decent sleep. When they finally arrived at Roy's house Havoc got out and opened Ed's door while Roy went over and unlocked his house. Ed opened his eyes as the truck stopped and Havoc spoke as he unclicked the seatbelt.

"Your room is upstairs. I need to carry you up ok?"

"I'm too heavy."

"Not for me. I can handle the added weight Chief don't worry about that. Are you ok if I pick you up?" Havoc didn't want to hurt Ed or touch him until Ed was ready for it.

Ed gave a small nod and Havoc spoke again. "I'm going to turn you around so your automail isn't against my chest. I know your arm is still hurting you."

Havoc maneuvered Ed around before he picked him up bridal style and carried Ed into the house. Roy guided them up the stairs and down to Ed's room as Havoc hadn't been upstairs in Roy's house before. Once in the room Havoc placed Ed gently down on the bed.

"Ed, do you want to get changed out of those clothes into your own sleep clothes?" Roy asked.

"Later." Ed said with his eyes closed and it was clear that his body was in pain from the movement.

"Whenever you feel ready, I'll leave some out for you." Roy said as he picked up a thick blanket and placed it over Ed's body covering him from the shoulders down. "Are you warm enough?"

"Finally." Ed said softly and it was clear to both Havoc and Roy that he would be asleep within seconds.

Roy went over and turned on the small lamp that he placed in the room on the desk for Ed before him and Havoc left the room. Roy made sure to close the door most of the way, but left it open just enough that Roy could hear Ed if he needed something or was having a nightmare. They then both went down the stairs and stood by the front door.

"Thank-you for driving us."

"Wouldn't miss it. I'm going to meet up with Hughes and Al and take them to the Fifth Lab. I don't think we'll have any problems or unexpected visitors, but I'd feel better if they had some backup."

"No they shouldn't be there alone. Soldiers are all around here and Hawkeye will be by later. Ed is safe here. You worry about Al."

"Call if you need anything Boss."

"Be safe and get some sleep yourself tonight."

"I will. Hopefully being here is what Ed needs to get some decent sleep himself."

"I think he'll finally start to heal. Be safe." Roy said again. He couldn't handle getting another subordinate hurt right now.

"Always Sir."

Havoc turned and headed back to his truck. Roy closed and locked the door before he made his way into the kitchen. Roy had gotten a few things to make for dinners this week that he could make ahead of time and leave them in his fridge. He also got the helpful hint from Winry that Ed's favorite food was stew, Roy figured he would make some and hopefully that would interest Ed's stomach. Roy couldn't blame Ed for not being hungry after what he had gone through. He also hadn't really eaten in the three weeks he was held captive so it was no surprise that his body wasn't hungry. Roy knew he just needed to get Ed to eat something and that would slowly start to wake Ed's stomach back up. Ed needed to eat for more than just his body, he couldn't do alchemy until he was back at full strength for his body to be able to handle the energy that Ed uses for his alchemy. With any luck Ed would be awake tomorrow and Roy would be able to get him to eat something small to get things started. Roy got to work on cooking while he waited for Hawkeye to arrive. With any luck they might get something from Al at the lab.

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Hughes pulled up in front of Lab 5 and turned to look at Al once the car was turned off.

"Are you sure you want to do this? You don't have to if you don't feel ready for it."

"I'm alright. You want to understand who in the military could have been involved in this and what they were trying to produce. I know you caught the ones that hurt my brother, but it's important for you to have all of the information. Brother would want to know as well what these scientists were trying to create. I don't know if I'll see anything, but I'm willing to try." Al said with a warm smile.

"Promise me that if it becomes too much for you at any point that you'll tell us to stop and we can come right back here." Hughes said still not sure how he felt about having Al going through this place.

"I promise Mr. Hughes. I'll be fine." Al said with determination. He would do anything to help Ed that much was very clear.

"Alright, Havoc will be going through it with us just in case. There shouldn't be anyone in there but us it's just a precaution."

"I understand."

They both got out of the car and met with Havoc who was waiting for them by the entrance. He gave them both a warm smile as he spoke.

"Lieutenant Colonel, Al, how are you doing?"

"I'm alright Sir. How was brother?" Al had only seen Ed yesterday right before visiting hours were over. He had wanted to see him today, but Hughes had called and said Ed needed the rest and he would be moved tonight to Roy's home. Al was hoping that he could see Ed tomorrow, even if it was to just sit with him while he slept.

"He's exhausted and sore. He was asleep within seconds of laying down. I think he just needs a day to catch up on some solid sleep before having visitors. The Colonel also bought some food to cook for the week so the Chief can eat whenever he feels like it. Hawkeye was going over later to help with protection."

"I'm still not sure why Brother would need the protection. You said you caught everyone involved. Surely the military wouldn't hurt him."

"We caught everyone, but it's just an added precaution in case there was someone within the military connected to this stupid enough to attack the Colonel's house. The Fuhrer is taking extra caution with your brother because of how valuable to the Country he is. It's a good thing, this way Ed can rest and heal without having to worry." Hughes answered.

At first Hughes wasn't too sure about lying to Al over this, but now Hughes could see that Ed was right. Al would have been worrying himself sick the whole time if he knew that Ed's attackers were still out there and that they couldn't actually kill them.

"Al, you sure about this? You don't have to do it." Havoc asked.

"I'm sure. It's only a lab." Al said easily.

"We'll walk you through the whole thing and let us know if you see anything that doesn't make sense or anything weird." Hughes said.

"Understood."

Havoc opened the door and together the three of them made their way through the lab going room to room as Al took it all in. With a lot of luck they might be able to find something that they could use. They were half way through the lab and so far they hadn't found anything that stood out to Al. He had gone through most of the books in each separate laboratory, but he wasn't able to understand most of it. They were walking down the main hallway when they all felt the ground start to shake.

"What was that?" Al asked.

Havoc and Hughes both looked around as the ground and walls started to shake, dropping pieces down into the hallway. Havoc grabbed Al as he spoke.

"We gotta get out of here."

Both soldiers took off running at full speed down the hallway to reach the entrance. They both knew what was happening and they both knew they wouldn't have long before the whole building came down upon them. It made no sense though for the building to be collapsing and they both knew that meant it was an explosion. An explosion that should have already happened, which meant someone knew they were in here looking and had set it off. Once they were outside the whole building came down in a puff of smoke. They continued to run until they were past the cars and Havoc placed Al back down. Both Havoc and Hughes looked at each other speaking at the same time.

"What's the password?"

"Red metal." They answered at the same time, not even giving the other the chance to comment.

"Ok we're good." Hughes said as he knew for a fact that Al had been inside all day.

"What was that about?" Al asked referring to the password and the explosion.

"Just added precaution. As for the building, someone didn't want us going through it." Hughes answered.

"Then something must have been there." Al concluded, afterall you don't blow up a building if you have nothing to worry about.

"Most likely, but now we will never know." Havoc said not happy about this at all.

"I'll bring you back home Al and then call Roy and let him know." Hughes said.

"He's not going to be happy about this." Havoc already knew the Colonel was reaching his limit with this case. This was not going to help the matter.

"Can't be helped. Get yourself home Havoc. We can all meet tomorrow morning to go over what we have, if anything."

"Works for me. Have a good night you two." Havoc said before he turned and headed for his car.

Hughes guided Al over to their car and got in. When he got home he would have to call Roy and see what he wanted to do about the building first before he called anyone else. Hughes was hoping that with the books they might be able to actually come up with a plan for these bastards.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be more help to you Mr. Hughes."

"You did your best Al, that is all we ask of you. Besides, there was a good chance that nothing was in there that we could have figured out. There's no telling what they are trying to hide. We'll figure it out though, we always do."

"Oh I know you will. Winry says you all are a family. That you won't let this go until it is fully complete. I believe in you and I can take comfort in knowing that Ed is safe. Though, I wish he would come home with us. I can't help but think it's better for him." Al said and it was clear he still wasn't happy about this.

"I know, but sometimes Ed needs to be around adults who can be there to help him deal with what he went through. It's not as simple as a broken arm that he can go home with. He went through some pretty terrible things and he needs time to be able to heal and be around people who understand what he's feeling. Him staying doesn't mean he's in the military, it just means he needs some time before he can make that decision. You guys will still be close and you can visit each other and talk on the phone. Before you know it you'll be in school and playing with your friends to even miss him." Hughes said with a warm smile. He just needed to get Al to look towards a future and then he might not be so upset about Ed potentially not returning.

"I guess. It's just going to take some getting used to is all. I'm sure it'll be fine once we get back into our own lives." Al said trying to sound positive about it all.

"You'll adjust quicker than you think Al. You must be looking forward to being in school again and making friends."

"I guess. I haven't really thought about it. I've been too busy worrying about brother to really even consider anything back home."

"See, you need to start thinking about what you want your future to be like. It will give you something to look forward to." Hughes said with a warm smile. He didn't know what Ed would decide, but he did know that Roy was going to try his hardest to make sure Ed got the chance to live his life as well. Something Hughes had a feeling would take the brothers in separate directions for the first time in their life. Hughes knew Roy was working with Ed so he would work with Al on getting his life sorted.

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It wasn't until five that next night did Roy make his way into Ed's bedroom. He had decided to let Ed sleep the past twenty some odd hours away without waking him up. He should have woken him up for Ed to take his medication, but Roy figured one day without it wouldn't hurt too much. Ed still had some in his system from the hospital and his body desperately needed the sleep. Roy put some of the stew in a bowl and placed it on a tray along with some water and Ed's medication. He brought it up the stairs and into Ed's room. Roy himself had spent the day going over the files once again, hoping that he would discover something new. Roy knew there was something in the Lab otherwise they wouldn't have blown it up. Roy had his team along with Hughes and Armstrong down at the Lab site today going through it, but they had only been able to confirm that someone did in fact blow it up. What made it even more frustrating was that in a normal situation Roy could pass the files off to Ed and have some young fresh eyes look at it. Eds mind was amazing and it did puzzles really well. There wasn't a puzzle out there that Ed couldn't solve. Roy knew Ed would find something they missed, but he was in no shape to do any of it. They dealt with difficult cases before Ed and Roy knew they would be able to solve this without him. Roy was not going to put any pressure on Ed or drag him into this. It had to be Ed's choice and only when he was ready to make that choice.

Roy walked into Ed's room and saw that he was still asleep on the bed peacefully. For the first time in close to a month Ed was sleeping peacefully. Roy took a moment to truly look at Ed. He had never seen Ed sleeping peacefully before and he couldn't believe how young he looked. It was easy to forget that Ed was just a fifteen year old boy. He was so mature and intelligent for his age that you often forgot that it wasn't an adult standing there. Yes, Ed had his moments where his maturity was lacking, but it never bothered Roy because it was just part of growing up. Ed had to be free to make mistakes just like any other child his age could. Roy never worried about it, because Ed always got his missions done and done remarkably well. He could turn towns that hated the military completely around. People loved Ed and what he stood for. It's why the whole country went insane when they heard that the Hero of the People was missing. There was something special about Ed that made everyone want to be a better person and loyal to him.

Roy went and placed the tray down on the bedside table before he sat down on the edge of the bed. He reached out and brushed a stray strand of hair that had fallen on Ed's face. Ed didn't even stir at the contact and Roy couldn't help, but give a small smile. Ed trusted Roy enough to allow himself to sleep that deeply and know he was safe.

"Ed, it's time to wake up."

At the sound of Roy's voice Ed let out a soft groan and Roy knew he was waking up. Ed's eyes slowly blinked open and saw Roy sitting beside him. Ed's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he spoke.

"What smells good?"

"Your dinner. I made you stew."

Ed's head perked up at that. "You made stew?"

Roy gave a small chuckle. "Winry said it was your favorite. I thought it might entice your stomach to eat something. Seems I was right."

Ed slowly sat up and leaned his back against the headboard of the bed.

"How are you feeling?"

"My head's foggy. How long have I been asleep?"

"Almost a whole day. I thought you could use the sleep. But now you need to take your medication and eat something. Once you start eating your mind should start to feel better and your body won't feel so shaky. I only gave you a small amount of stew for now, but there is plenty in the fridge should you be hungry later. You also need to drink all of the water."

"Do I take the medicine first?"

"No you should eat first and then take it. I know you're tired, but if you are feeling up to it you are more than welcome to raid my library."

"You have a library?"

"Right next door." Roy said as he pointed to the wall to the left of him. "When you feel up to it you can go find some books to read." Roy handed Ed the tray and placed it down in his lap.

"I'm allowed to read? I figured the doctor would have said no to that."

"Didn't ask him. But as long as you don't read for ten hours straight I think you'll be fine."

"It's your personal library. Does that mean I'll find some flame alchemy books?" Ed asked and Roy could hear the interest in his voice.

"Yes, they are on the top shelf." Roy said with a teasing smile.

"That's just cruel. Short jokes when I'm in this state." Ed pouted.

"I'm sorry. But they really are on the top shelf. I will make a deal with you though. If you eat all of your stew I'll move em lower for you."

"It still sounds like there's a short joke in there, but deal." Ed grumbled.

"You know I only joke about your height because it bothers you so much. I'm trying to get you used to your height. It's not working though."

"You try hearing comments about something every single day, no matter what town you are in. See how funny you find it. It's not like I can change it. The automail stunts height on someone my age. The only way I'll grow is to not wear it for a year or longer. You try doing anything with one arm and one leg. The short jokes and comments get old. It's like that's all anyone sees first. It's insulting."

"Ed, I'm sorry if I ever made you feel bad about it or if I insulted you. I only meant it in a teasing way. Same as the team."

"I know that. I don't take offense to it when someone on the team does it."

"Does anyone in the military give you problems about your height or anything?"

"You never cared before."

"I have always cared. I didn't know anyone was saying or doing anything, otherwise I would have put a stop to it. There have been problems you kept from me." Roy easily stated.

"It's not a problem, it's just comments." Ed said with a small shrug.

"About your height?"

"No. My automail."

"Your automail? What do they say about your automail?" Roy didn't expect that answer from Ed. There were plenty of soldiers in the military that had automail. It wasn't uncommon, sure on a twelve year old, but they should have adapted to it quickly.

"It doesn't matter."

"It does matter Ed. No one in the military should be giving you a hard time over something like automail. It's dishonorable. What have they said?" Ed knew by the tone in Roy's voice that he wasn't going to let this go. The sooner he talked the sooner he could eat and then sleep.

"That I'm more metal than human. That I'm half a boy. A few will bump into me and make comments about cutting my other arm or leg off and maybe I'll get a promotion. It's just stupid shit."

"That's not stupid Ed. It's cruel and abusive. They had no right to say any of that to you. Who were they?" Roy demanded furious that anyone would say those things to Ed.

"I don't know. They were ranked below me. Never bothered with names. I'm not real good with them anyways."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Honestly, I didn't think you'd care. I figured you would tell me to grow a pair and get thicker skin. You took a risk in bringing me on and keeping my secret, but I figured I was just a promotion to you. As long as I did my job and didn't make you look bad I didn't think you'd care about anything like that. It was mostly in the beginning, it doesn't really happen now. And I get it. If I was their age I wouldn't be happy about some twelve year old becoming a Major and he could order me around. How happy would you be?"

"That doesn't give them the right to say anything like that to you. As for caring, I have always cared about you and Al. Ed, I checked in on you every mission you went on. I checked in with the local police to make sure you were alright and didn't need help. How do you think I always know what happened before you even get back to file a report? If I know where you are, I always have eyes on you. You are not just a promotion. I wanted to help give you the chance to get your brother and your body back. I wanted to show you the world and let you grow in it. I want to know when someone says something shitty to you. I want to know if someone is giving you a hard time. I can't help stop it if I don't even know it's happening. I can't give you advice on how to handle it yourself if I don't know. That needs to change Ed."

"You really check up on us?" Ed asked softly, but Roy could hear the surprise in his voice.

"Every time. Why do you think I get so mad when you go off on your own without telling me. I can't keep you safe if I don't even know what city you are in. You can protect yourself I know that, but some problems are too big for even you handle on your own. Some problems need a different perspective and strategy then just going head into it. Learning those strategies takes time and life experience something you will get as you get older. So from now on I need you to promise me that you will tell me these things and we can figure out how to deal with it together. Ok?"

Ed gave a small nod as he spoke. "Ok."

"Good. Now, you need to eat as much as you can and take your medicine. If you need me I'll be right downstairs."

"Thanks for all this."

"You never have to thank me Ed." Roy said with a warm smile.

"What's going to happen?" Roy could tell that Ed truly had no idea what was going to happen from this point. He could also still hear and see in Ed's eyes that he didn't care. He was in too much pain right now to care about anything.

"Nothing that needs to be decided until you are ready. For now, you will always be welcome here. This is your room Ed, you never have to leave. When you are ready we can sit down and figure out what you want to do with your life then, but not until you are ready for it."

"But the case."

Roy cut Ed off. "Is not your concern. I will handle it. We have handled difficult enemies before you came and we will do it again. The only thing you have to worry about it is healing. I'll handle the rest. You be the kid, I'll be the adult that was deal we had."

Ed gave a small nod in agreement and Roy could see he was grateful for it. Roy knew that Ed wasn't ready for anything serious. His mind and heart needed time to heal from what happened first. Roy wasn't going to let Ed push himself when he wasn't ready. Roy gave Ed a warm smile before he turned and left the room, closing the door most of the way behind him. He would be able to hear Ed call out if he needed him, but it would also give Ed some privacy as well. Roy then went back down the stairs to grab some stew for himself before he would once again go over everything they had so far. It was taking a long time, but with any luck they would have the books soon and hopefully find something in them.

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It had been six days since Ed was brought to Roy's home. During those six days nothing had come of the case and they were stuck in this waiting period. Sheska was promising to have the books done for tomorrow and the Fuhrer was about to put to fear of God into whoever was holding up the clearance forms for the books kept under lock and key. Roy was promised that tomorrow he would have everything he needed for his team to continue on with the case. Ed had spent the past six days up in his room, only leaving to grab more books from Roy's library. The others were worried, but Roy wasn't. Ed was taking the time he needed and he made sure he brought food and water up to Ed every few hours to get his strength back up. Roy had gotten good at telling when Ed would eat something and when he wouldn't. Ed did enjoy the chocolate popsicles that Roy had purchased and it was something he could always get Ed to eat. It wasn't anything nutritious, but it did help with any dizzy spells and keeping Ed's electrolytes in the right place. To Roy it was better than nothing. Ed had also gotten into the habit of taking a minimum of three showers a day. Roy knew that Ed was going to have problems mentally after what happened to him. It was only natural for him to need help with dealing with it all. Roy was hoping he could approach Ed with the idea of him speaking to a professional about it. So far Ed's mood hadn't been in the right place for that conversation yet. Still, Roy was keeping a close eye on Ed to make sure he didn't fall into a depression.

Roy was down in his living room with Havoc, Hawkeye and Hughes going over the files once again. Winry had just headed up the stairs to see Ed. Al had been by often as well, but with Ed needing to sleep so much they didn't have much time for an actual visit. Al also seemed to be getting restless with his brother being bed ridden and not in the mood for any stimulating conversation. It seemed to the adults that Al was slowly losing his sympathies for his brother and just wanted him back to normal again. It was normal behaviour for any ten year old, only this time Ed didn't have it in him. Winry seemed to understand the best. She didn't know everything that Ed went through, but she understood that he wasn't going to bounce back right away this time. He needed the time to wallow and process what happened to him. Roy had caught them a couple of times where Winry had stayed the night asleep on the bed with Ed. Roy knew that the best friends would develop into something more one day and that was perfectly fine with Roy. Winry was a strong girl and she would be a strong woman. She would be able to keep Ed in line. She often reminded Roy of a younger Hawkeye. She was good for Ed and Ed was good for her.

Winry walked into Ed's room and saw him curled up on his left side on the bed. He opened his eyes when he heard the door open. Winry gave him a warm smile as she closed the door and went to curl up under the covers facing Ed.

"Have you been downstairs yet?" Winry started.

"No. I have no reason to. Besides, I'm sore and those stairs would hurt going up and down all day."

"You could just stay down there ya know. And since when do stairs stop you? You got yourself back in shape with two automail limbs inside of a year when it should have taken you three. You were throwing up blood for a good six months. You could get yourself down there if you truly wanted to."

"I'm so tired Winry. I can't shake it no matter how much I sleep. I just wake up more tired."

"That's because you aren't moving and stimulating your body and mind. Remember when you were really sick with the flu when we were five? You spent a week in bed and each day you were losing more energy than the last, but that was because you weren't moving around. Once I dragged your ass out of bed you started to feel better after the first hour. You hiding in bed isn't helping you Ed." Winry said keeping her tone gentle. She understood why Ed was here. She would be too, but she also knew that she would stay here until Ed dragged her out of bed and forced her to face the world again.

"I'm not ready."

"Before we started surgery on you, I asked you if you were ready and you know what you told me? That you would never be ready so get on with it. I don't think there is a ready feeling for something like this. I think you just have to push through it and move forward until you start to feel better. I do know I can't let you keep wallowing in this room for much longer."

"I'm not wallowing. I'm still hurt by what happened, I'm not over it, but I'm not up here wallowing. I just don't know what to do. Being in here is easier than trying to figure out what my next move should be."

"Well let's talk it out then. We always do that when you are stuck on a problem. We talk it out and it helps you sort your thoughts. I was never any good at giving you advice, but I can be a really good sounding board for you. What are we trying to figure out?"

"What do I do now? Al is back in his body, the mission is done. All I wanted was for him to get back to normal and now he is."

"But what about your body? I thought you wanted yours back too?"

"I do, but it was always going to be Al first. Now that he's back, how can I risk my life just to get my arm and leg back? I'm ok this way. They hurt, but I know you will find a way one day to change that. And now it really is my price to pay for the mistake we made. This is how it should have been. I can accept the automail and it does come in handy. But then what do I do? Do I go back to Resembool and try to find work there or do I stay in the military? Should I still try and find the Philosopher's Stone and get to the whole truth behind what happened? Or do I leave it to Mustang and his team to solve and takeover? I'm so numb to everything right now, how can I make a decision feeling this way?"

"First, you are numb, because your mind is trying to process all the feelings you are feeling. Eventually you won't be numb and then you'll feel overwhelmed with all the emotions you are feeling. It's part of the process. For the rest of it, you know I would love for you to be back home, but Ed, what job could you possibly do that would interest you enough? What job could you do that would give you the stimulation you need? I know you only became a State Alchemist for Al, but you've come alive doing this job. You do love doing it. You love being able to see the world and learn all different cultures. You love helping people. You talk about it all the time. Remember that feeling and think if you could ever feel that being in a job in Resembool."

"No, but I don't know if I'll ever feel that way again being in the military. Even if I stay in, how can I do a good job when I don't feel anything?"

"By taking it one day at a time. I'm not telling you what to do and you being in the military terrifies me to no end. But I do know how much you loved the majority of it. And I know you were meant for bigger and better things than Resembool."

"We are." Ed corrected.

"I know and one day I will be joining you here in Central with my own automail shop." Winry said with a confident smile.

"What about Al though? How can I leave him behind?"

"By remembering you can always visit. You're not leaving him behind anyways, you are going to live your life and allowing him to live his without being under your shadow. He gets a second chance at life. He can make it anything he wants it to be. I think you and him being apart is good for him. It lets him discover who he is without being Ed's little brother first. He can live with Granny and me. Granny already told him he would be and she's going to get him in school. We'll take care of him you know that. The three of us will be together again one day and we can all explore the world together. For now, you need to do whatever it is that you think will make you happy. The rest can all work out."

"And the stone? The only way to make one is with large amounts of human sacrifices. Whoever these guys are, whoever is behind it in the military has been killing people just to make these stones. It's not even a complete stone, just red liquid waiting to be transmuted into a stone. Thousands of lives have been killed for it. How can I keep looking into the truth behind it?"

"How can you stop Ed? I don't know what you should do and I hate the thought of you getting involved in this again. But, if thousands have already died, how can you not find answers and justice for them, for their families? I know no one has told you anything about your case, but Ed they have nothing. The lab was even blown up by these guys. Al was inside it with Mr. Hughes and Mr. Havoc at the time. They were all ok, but whoever is behind this thing isn't going to stop or go away. Someone has to stop them. And so far they have nothing. I think you are the only one who can figure this whole thing out and end it once and for all. At the same time though, I want to lock you up somewhere to keep you safe from anything bad ever happening to you again. All I can do is support whatever you decide to do and be there for you no matter what."

"You're my best friend Winry, I don't know what I would do without you."

"You never have to worry about that. You're never getting rid of me. You are my best customer after all." Winry said with a playful smile.

Ed couldn't help but give a small smile in return. It wasn't much, but Winry was happily taking it.

"Thank-you, you were right this did help. And now I need a favor."

"Of course you do." Winry said with a playful eye roll. "Anything you know that."

"If I'm going to do this then I need you, Al and Granny to be safe. You need to make Al leave. He won't want to, especially without me, but you need to convince him it's time to leave."

"When?"

"Tomorrow morning there will be a train. You three need to be on it. You know my captors aren't caught, they could come after any of you and that's something I can't handle. I need you safe. You've always been able to get Al to do something that he doesn't want to. I need you three on that train."

"What do I tell Al about you not coming with us. He won't understand why you won't finish healing at home."

"Tell him I can't until I get clearance to go on vacation. Or tell him that the Fuhrer is refusing to let me leave until whoever in the military that is behind Lab 5 is caught. Tell him that instead. He should believe that with the added guards around here. I don't think it'll take long. I'm not looking to get a stone, but to stop everyone involved. I only need a month or two."

"And then we figure out what happens after that. Ok, I'll get him to agree to go. Granny is anxious to get back as well. She's getting too old for all this travel."

"I know. I'll get the tickets and meet you there tomorrow for nine. I'll also send some money home to help with the bills. I know it's been tight recently."

"Granny is having trouble keeping up like she used to. She's getting sick more often now too. I've been doing most of the work and she's been teaching me the things I don't know about the business side of things. I'll be surprised if she doesn't retire within the year."

"She's been doing it for a long time. She deserves a break after raising all of us. I have a bunch of money saved up. I'll send you some to help with the bills and anything Al needs."

"Thanks Ed. I'm going to try and get more customers in too."

"I tell everyone I see that you did my automail. I'm the best advertisement you got."

"You really are. We'll make it work. You focus on getting better though ok. I don't want you worrying about us. You need to heal and not just physically."

"I know. I won't let this destroy me. I'll be back to myself eventually."

"Take it one day at a time"

"I'm kinda taking it one hour at a time right now."

"Then do that until you can take it one day at a time. I'll always be here for you Ed, always."

"I know Winry. I'll always be here for you. So don't think just because I'm numb and hurt that you can't tell me anything. If something is wrong or bothering you I want to hear about it. Ok?"

"Ok. I promise no secrets."

"I guess I better showered and get dressed into some actual clothes eh?"

"It would be a good place to start. I'll head back and start working on Al. I'll see you tomorrow at the station."

Both Ed and Winry sat up and Winry gave Ed a hug. Ed couldn't help, but wrap both of his arms around her and hold onto her for longer than necessary. Winry had no problem with it though, she easily held on for as long as Ed needed. When Ed finally loosened his grip she moved back with a warm smile on her face.

"Be safe." Ed said.

"I will, don't you worry. Lieutenant Ross has been driving me around. She's waiting for me out front. I'll see you tomorrow. Don't work too hard."

"I won't."

Winry got up and made her way back down the stairs. She walked right into the living room with a stern expression on her face. She went right up to Roy, who was sitting back on his couch with a file in his hands. He looked up once he saw a shadow over him.

"Do not make me regret anything I just said to him. If you do I will come back here and I will show you how painful automail surgery can be. You will beg me to kill you by the time I am done with you. I am doing this because I believe it is what is best for him. Not for you or the military, but for Ed. Got it?" Winry demanded.

Everyone in the room was shocked. No one ever spoke to Roy like that much less a fifteen year old girl. Hawkeye couldn't help the smirk that played on her lips. Roy held his hands up slightly in a mock surrender as he spoke.

"Alright. Do I at least get to know what you told him so I know where the landmines are?"

"That would take away the fear and ruin all of my fun. I'll know though and then I'll be back. Have a good night Sir."

And with that Winry headed out of the house and back to the awaiting car. Once the door was closed Hughes gave a laugh as Roy spoke.

"She's a mini you." Roy said in Hawkeye's direction.

"I like her. I should teach her how to shoot." Hawkeye said back.

"Oh please don't. I don't think Ed would survive. She's gonna be scary and just what the Chief needs." Havoc said.

"She is going to make an excellent wife and she'll be your daughter-in-law Roy. Think of the grandbabies."

"Shut up Hughes." Roy growled.

"And don't let the Chief hear you talking like that. According to him they are just best friends." Havoc added.

"Oh he's in love and he knows it. He just doesn't want to admit it to anyone in case she doesn't feel the same. She does though and is keeping quiet for the exact same reason. Ah young love." Hughes said with a dreamy smile.

"I'm glad you find my life being threatened amusing Hughes."

"Oh come on she's a fifteen year old girl. Besides, it's her job to threaten you. You are the one stepping in to play the role of dad to Ed."

"Please stop saying that word." Roy groaned.

"What word? Dad? You are now. You made that decision a long time ago. It's time you faced up to it and accepted it. You have a son. He's right upstairs and the reason why you are cooking and spending all your time here stressing over a case when you normally wouldn't be. It's not a bad thing Roy. Embrace it, it'll make you stronger. And slightly insane."

"The Chief will be ok. He's too stubborn to be down for long. Being around family is exactly what he needs." Havoc said.

"We won't be any help to him if we can't figure this case out." Hawkeye said slightly sadly. They truly had nothing.

"We will. These things take time. We'll get it cracked." Hughes said.

Upstairs Ed got dressed after taking another hot shower. He put his hair back into a low hanging ponytail before he went over to his suitcase and stared at his clothes. He knew he needed to get dressed in something other than sleep clothes, but it was taking a great deal of energy for him to even reach down and pick up his clothes. Getting dressed meant he had to go somewhere and that meant actually leaving the house. He didn't know if he was ready for it. He didn't know if he was ready to hear about the case. All he did know was that he couldn't leave Al in danger or let any more people die for this stone. He had to make sure that this was stopped once and for all. After that he would figure out what came next for him.

Ed grabbed his black shirt and his pants to wear. He knew he needed to do this and he would have to push through and hope that the days got better. Once dressed he put his boots on and grabbed his cloak before making his way down the stairs. His body was still stiff and in pain, but the stairs weren't too bad he at least made it down them without falling. Ed could hear talking in the living room so he made his way over, he noticed the talking stopped once they heard him. He wasn't exactly trying to be quiet about it. Ed walked into the living room and say that Roy was on his couch with Havoc, Hughes and Hawkeye sitting in the chairs around the room. On the coffee table were case files that someone had quickly closed.

"Hey Ed. It's good to see you moving around." Hughes said with a warm smile.

Ed turned his attention to Roy. He didn't have it in him to beat around the bush. He was too tired for it.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Ed asked with a dead tone to his voice.

"Tell you what?" Roy tried to play it cool. He wasn't about to give Ed any information that he didn't need to.

"That you have nothing,. That my brother was in a building as it exploded. He could have been hurt." Ed said with the same dead tone that his voice seemed to be carrying for the past week.

"He wasn't. He was safe with Maes and Havoc. And that dead tone and dead look in your eyes is exactly why I didn't tell you. You are nowhere near ready for this Ed and that's ok. You get to be feeling like this, it's why I've left you alone in your room. You need time. We will get to the bottom of this."

"It's been two weeks since you've found me. Five weeks since I went missing and you got the case. Five weeks and all you have to show for it is the information I gave to you. Tens of thousands have died to make that red liquid and now it's all gone. They are out there making more, they have to if they want a stone. We're all out of time. You need my mind, you know you do."

"You are not the only intelligent person in the military Ed."

"No, but I am at this. Your mind works for strategy. You can see ten steps ahead and make all the pieces do what you want. That's how you see the world. I see the world and my mind breaks it down to see what else it could be. What it's made from. The whole world is a puzzle to me. You know my mind is the only way you are ever going to get a lead. You know that, you're just afraid to ask."

"It's not fear Ed, it's the fact that you need to be a kid and rest. You need to let the adults handle it. That was our deal, you be fifteen and I'll be the adult. I'm not going to risk any more of your mind for this. You've given too much as it is."

"I know you won't ask. You're a good man like that. And I want nothing more than to go back upstairs and hide from the world with my head under the covers. But how can I when I know thousands will die. Where I have to worry about them finding me or Al. I can't start to heal from what happened to me with them still out there. I'll still follow the deal and I'll only fight if given no other choice. I'll find you the pieces and then you can figure out where to put them."

"I'm not going to leave any alive Ed." Roy said in a serious voice. He had to let Ed know what the game plan was.

"I know. But I'm too numb to care." Ed admitted.

"You don't fight unless you have no other choice. And you can't use your alchemy until you are more healed. And when I tell you to take a break, you take a break. You're recovery is more important to me than getting the answers. Do you understand?"

Ed gave a nod and then Roy spoke. "What do you need?"

"A pad of paper, a pencil and to see the lab."

"Paper and pencil I can do. I never said you could leave this house."

"You didn't say I couldn't. You know I need to see it. You know my mind needs more than just books, I need to see things. I'll follow your rules, but I can't help properly being trapped in a house. I need to see it."

"Chief, it's rubble. The whole building collapsed." Havoc said.

"I know. Still need to see it."

"You stay next to me. You do not get out of the car until it has been cleared. You don't go anywhere without someone there with you. From this point forward you are being treated as a high value target. Unless you are in this house you are not alone."

"Ok."

"Alright, you ready to go?" Roy asked as he stood up.

Ed gave a nod as he put on his cloak. "I have to go to the train station tomorrow for nine. Winry, Al and Granny are going to head back to Resembool."

"We'll make sure to be there. Hughes, have Lieutenant Ross and Sergeant Brosh going undercover in Resembool. I want them on the train tomorrow morning, they can stay at one of the inns. If something happens I want them in Resembool to keep an eye on the three of them."

"I'll tell them tonight to be ready."

Roy handed Ed the pad of paper and a pencil. They all headed to the front door, but Roy placed his hand on Ed's shoulders.

"They clear it first."

Ed watched as the others went out to make sure everything was safe before Ed could even step outside. Ed knew he should be arguing about it, but he just couldn't bring himself to care. Once Hawkeye gave the nod Roy walked with Ed to the truck and got Ed safely inside. Havoc and Hughes got on either side of Ed while Roy got behind the wheel with Hawkeye next to him. Once they were on the road Ed opened the pad of paper and started to draw.

"Do you have anything so far?" Ed asked.

"We know that all the scientist that were at the lab went missing a few days before you went into it. We know it was run by Grand, but we don't know if he was the only one aware of what was going on. The security footage doesn't show them bringing in any red liquid so either they did it in a blind spot or they created it there. We've had Sheska recreating any book that speaks about homunculi and we are waiting on the approval to have access to any books that are kept under special lock and key. We should have them tomorrow. They will be in a special conference room at Headquarters. We can't remove the special books from the building. Other than that we have nothing." Roy answered.

"How was the building blown up?"

"Explosives from what we can gather. We found small pieces of the wires left. We don't know how it was detonated or how long they had been there." Hughes answered.

"What are you doing about Envy? He could be anyone."

"There's a code word that only the team and Armstrong knows along with Ross and Brosh now. We're keeping it very close to the chest. Whenever you see one of us ask the code word before you get too close." Roy answered.

"What is it?"

"Red metal." Roy answered.

"I'm not sure what you're hoping to find. Al walked through half of it and didn't see anything." Havoc said.

"Al also lost the last four years of knowledge that he learnt or I taught him. He could have easily missed something because he doesn't remember learning it."

"If you say so Chief, it's still a pile of rubble though."

"Where's the rest of the team?" Ed asked.

"Back at Headquarters trying to figure out who in the military had access to the lab. They will meet us tomorrow at the conference room." Roy answered.

"I need to be there."

"I know. We can sneak you in and make sure no one sees you. We don't know who we can trust right now. The less people that know where you are the better." Roy said he already figured Ed wouldn't let him leave tomorrow without him.

When they pulled up to the lab Ed sat in the car with Roy while the others looked around to clear it. Roy knew for a fact that Ed wasn't feeling back to his usual self when he didn't even complain once about the way the team was acting. Roy looked back at Ed and saw him drawing something in the book. He looked exhausted, like even sitting up was taking everything out of him. Beneath the worry inside of Roy's chest he was also proud of Ed for taking this huge step. Once Roy got the all clear he got out while Havoc opened the back door for Ed and stood beside him while Ed got out.

"Now what Ed?" Roy asked.

"Now you put the building back together." Ed easily stated as he walked closer to the rubble.

"Ed, I can't put a building back together, especially one this size." Roy instantly said.

Ed ripped the page off the pad and handed it to Roy as he spoke. "This is an array, you draw it and it will use your energy to put the building back together. All you need to do is put enough energy into it and the building will build itself."

"I've never heard of an array like this." Roy said as he looked down at it.

"I just made it up. Your flame alchemy uses a lot of energy you have enough. Use the same amount you would if you were going to make a large explosion at full throttle."

"You've been reading my flame alchemy books I see. What about the bomb? Will this reconstruct it too?"

"No, just the building and anything that was inside. Giving us all the documents that were lost."

"Alright." Roy said as he grabbed the piece of chalk that he always kept in his pocket. He didn't usually need it, but he felt it was always best to have a spare piece just in case. You never know what could happen.

Roy went about drawing the array as Ed stood back with his back against the truck with Hawkeye and Havoc close by him. No one was taking any chances. Once Roy had the array drawn he let out a breath before he bent down and placed his hands on the circle. He focused the right amount of energy into the circle and watched as the blue lightning formed and started to reconstruct the building. It took a good five minutes and a good amount of energy but once it was done Roy removed his hands and looked amazed at what he had done.

Hughes whistled before he spoke. "Nicely done."

"I made the array idiot proof. All he had to do was put enough energy into it and it would do all the work." Ed said as he moved to stand next to Roy.

"Jeez thanks. You know not everyone can do alchemy like you can." Roy said lightly insulted.

"I know, that's why I made it so you could do it. We agreed I wouldn't use alchemy. You did a good job though."

"Let's see if the inside is helpful to us. Stay close." Roy said.

Ed gave a nod and Hawkeye went with Havoc first to the entrance followed by Roy and Ed then Hughes taking up the back.

"I need to see the labs, what they were working on. Tucker's lab was closer to the back."

"They're this way." Havoc said as he guided them towards the lab area.

Ed took in everything that he walked by. He didn't get to see this the last time he was here, but so far it all looked normal. When they arrived at the first lab Ed went through it, but he didn't find anything interesting. They slowly made their way through the various labs until they reached the room where Ed fought the suit of armour. Ed couldn't help but pause to take in the room. Putting it back together left his blood stains on the ground.

"Ed?" Hawkeye asked gently as Ed stopped.

"I didn't realise how much blood I lost. I'm not as skilled against a swordsmen as I thought. First time I faced one though."

"I saw the fight Ed. You held your own. You survived. You did good against them Ed." Hawkeye said.

"Most soldiers aren't trained with swords. It's rare for someone to pick a sword as their primary weapon. You won the fight Ed." Roy added.

"Ya that one." Ed mumbled before he continued on.

The others knew that they needed to give Ed some time so they walked with him in silence. When they arrived at Tucker's lab Ed made his way over to the main work desk and started to go through everything.

"Where are all the Chimera's? I thought you restored everything." Hughes asked.

"The array was for everything inside, but the Chimera's are living so they wouldn't be restored." Ed answered.

"This place is still creepy even without them. Why was Tucker trying to bring his daughter back anyways? How did he really think it would work?" Havoc asked.

"He killed her, he thought he could just erase that. As for how, he was creating these Nina dolls and trying to figure out how to get her soul into them. It was never going to work though, not the way he was doing it." Ed answered as he was reading through the notebooks.

"How did he even end up here?" Hawkeye thought out loud.

"Grand had found Tucker himself. The military has always been interested in Chimeras. Grand was always looking for a quick way to the top to him Tucker was it. Grand was in charge of this lab it only makes sense that Tucker would have been placed here once Grand arrested him." Roy answered.

"He gets to keep working on creating chimeras and in return he can try to bring his daughter back to life. Yet, somewhere along the way he turns himself into a chimera." Havoc said with a shake of his head.

"How did he turn himself into one?" Hughes asked.

"Rebound." Ed answered with a distracted voice as his continued to flip through the pages.

"A rebound could turn him into a chimera?" Hughes asked as he turned to look at Roy, knowing that Ed was going to be too far gone to answer.

"A rebound could change him into a chimera. There's no telling what a rebound can do, but they are violent and potentially life threatening. He could have easily ran out of energy while trying to do another transmutation and it bonded him and the animal he was using." Roy answered.

"There has got to be fifty notebooks in here." Hawkeye said.

"This is what we need. We need the notebooks and files to go through them. Tucker grabbed everything the lab was working on once it was empty. This is what they didn't want us to find." Ed said as he looked up from the notebook.

"We can pack it up and bring it to the house. Go over it there." Roy said.

"This is also the last lab in here." Hughes said as he went and grabbed one of the boxes in the room to empty it out and put some of the notebooks into it.

"I need to see the room with the transmutation array in it." Ed said.

"I don't know if that is a good idea Ed." Hughes said gently.

"I need to see it." Ed said this time looking right at Roy.

Roy let out a small sigh before he spoke. "I'll take you."

Ed put the notebook down and him and Roy made their way out of the room. The others stayed behind to collect the notebooks and any other file that was in the office. Roy and Ed made their way down the hallways to reach the one room Roy didn't want Ed to be seeing. He knew that Ed needed to see this, but he was worried about what he might remember. They arrived at the room and Roy was confused about why the red liquid wasn't there. It was when his mind registered it wasn't in the rubble either. Someone had moved it since they were originally here.

"Where is the red liquid?" Ed asked.

"I was just realising that myself. It was here when I first arrived after finding out you were missing. Somewhere between then and the explosion someone collected it and moved it. My guess would be the homunculi."

"They don't want to start over." Ed said as he went to look down at the array.

"I've never seen this before or an eight point array. The power your alchemy has is amazing Ed."

"I almost did it. I almost killed them."

"The important thing is Ed, you didn't kill them. You could have, but you didn't. You are a good kid. You knew there was a high chance that they would kill Al, but you still refused to kill them. They were criminals already sentenced to death, but you are too good of a person to kill them. What you didn't do in this case speaks a lot louder than what you could have done."

"I've never seen this type of an array before either, not even when I was researching human transmutation."

"I haven't either, but you know that each alchemist has their own signature and spin on things. We will figure this out Ed. We'll get all the answers that you need. I promise you."

Ed gave a nod before he went into a coughing fit. His lungs were nowhere near healthy and all of this walking around was taking a toll on his already exhausted body. Roy moved closer to Ed just in case his legs gave out. Once Ed got the coughing fit back under control Roy could see some blood going down Ed's chin.

"We need to get you out of here and resting again. Your mind is firing on all cylinders, but your body is still hurt and recovering. You can go over the notebooks sitting curled up in your bed or on the couch."

Ed wiped away the blood as he just gave a shaky nod. Roy could see that Ed's body was trembling slightly and he knew that Ed was at his physical limit. Roy stayed close to Ed as he guided him back through the lab and out to the truck. Roy kept looking around to make sure no one was in the area as he got Ed into the back of the truck. His team came out of the lab with the last of the boxes and saw Roy and Ed already at the truck.

"Is he ok?" Hughes asked with concern.

"He's at his limit. We need to get him back to the house and give his lungs a break."

"We got everything from the lab. Let's get him home. He's got a long day tomorrow."

They all got into the truck and made the drive back to Roy's. They kept quiet as Ed had his eyes closed and was trying to get his breathing and pain under control. Once they arrived back at the house Ed made his way up to his room so he could give his body some rest.

"Do you want me to bring a box up for you Ed?" Roy asked.

"Ya thanks." Ed entered another coughing fit that caused his broken ribs to scream out in pain.

Havoc went over to Ed with a glass of water he had no idea where Havoc got so quick and handed it to Ed. Ed took it with a shaky hand and took a few sips to try and get his coughing fit under control.

"Thanks Havoc." Ed said with a rough voice.

Havoc moved a cloth that he had grabbed from the kitchen at the same time and wiped the blood from Ed's chin.

"Come on Chief, you need to be lying down."

Havoc placed a hand on Ed's lower back and helped him up the stairs and down to the room. Roy was right behind them with Ed's medication, his inhaler and a box. Once in the room Ed removed his cloak and boots before he sat back on his bed. Havoc headed out as Roy went over with the medication.

"You need to take these and let your body rest. Get some sleep and then you can read some later."

Ed took the medication and then moved to lay down. Roy covered Ed with the blanket and then went over to the desk lamp to turn it on.

"Get some sleep Ed."

Ed just closed his eyes and allowed his body the sleep it was craving. Roy left making sure the door was part way open just in case Ed needed something before heading back down the stairs. It was already getting to be late and tomorrow they were going to have a long day ahead of them. Roy was hoping that by the end of the day tomorrow they would at least be on the path to solving this case and making Ed safe once and for all.


End file.
